A Simple Soul's Determination
by Pygmanlion
Summary: As Beacon Academy falls, a new evil arises. Now awoken to her special powers, Ruby, JNPR, Sans, and Frisk travel across Remnant to bring their friends back together. Meanwhile, Chara and Yang fight their own battles back on the homefront, as Ironwood arrives in Patch. A Rose is a sturdy, resilient flower. One that does not so easily wilt. But what can be said of the others?
1. Prologue - 9 years later

**A/N:** **I don't own RWBY or Undertale. In other words, I'm not Monty "The Magnificent" Oum or Toby "Mr. Radiation" Fox. I wish I was either of them...Anyways...still don't know what to call this story so I'll worry about it later. In the meantime, enjoy the story.**

* * *

Frisk woke with a start yet again. She had been having recurring dreams of her brother committing genocide against all of monster kind, and her small amount of determination could do nothing against his rampage of insanity.

She then remembered who she was thinking about.

"Chara," she called out, whispering at first.

She looked around as she called out for her brother.

"Chara, where are you?"

She heard a grumbling noise to her left. She noticed she had been lying in a rather fluffy and comfortable bed. She looked to her left and saw the familiar disgruntled face of her brother. He seemed older...taller...more...hairy. He had a strange scruff around his chin and little hints of hair on his jaw line. His hair on his head had grown into a very much more defined bowl-shape.

She then looked down at herself and noticed a strange feeling of heaviness as she tried to sit up on the bed she was in. She noticed that she had...matured...slightly following her time in the underground.

She looked around the room again and noticed that there was a third bed in the room. After reassuring herself that her loose-fitting nightgown was actually going to stay on her, she slowly wandered towards the other bed, not wanting to wake anyone.

As she got closer to the bed, she noticed a familiar shape. A human skull. She looked closer and, sure enough, the blue light emitting from the left eye socket assured Frisk that it was, indeed, her old friend Sans. He was sleeping peacefully. There was no doubt in Frisk's mind that Sans was dreaming of Grillby's, his favorite diner. There was something different about Sans too. He was missing his worn down parka and his old blue jeans. He had also gotten a little bit taller. Frisk's suggestion to drink milk instead of ketchup had been working well for him.

"It seems you are awake. I am pleased to see that you are finally showing signs of life. It seems your friends are still partaking in beauty rest. Shall I wake them up?" A voice said behind Frisk, making her jump and hurriedly scramble back to her bed.

The voice chuckled at her childish actions.

"Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm friendly."

Somehow, finding her voice, Frisk said, "Th-the last time someone said that to me, I was almost dead after trusting them."

 ***Remembering your first encounter with Flowey the Demonic Flower still chills you to the bone. Regardless, you are filled with DETERMINATION.**

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear that. Would it be any comfort to you if I revealed myself to you?"

...

"I suppose."

A man in a green tailcoat walked in, coffee mug in one hand, cane in the other.

"I am Professor Ozpin. Headmaster of Beacon Academy. You are currently here in Beacon in a special ward for severely injured or special patients."

 ***Remembering your unknown reasons for being here, you begin to worry where Sans' brother, Papyrus is. The worry shows on your face and your DETERMINATION drains. You have temporarily lost your ability to save.**

"Is something troubling you?"

"Y-yes...Miste-Professor Ozpin. There was a taller skeleton of about your height with a tendency to say "nyeh-heh-heh" with us. Have you seen him nearby?"

"Yes. Of course. That one. He has been moved to his own separate recovery room so he doesn't disturb the healing sleep of the other patients."

 ***Now knowing the whereabouts of Papyrus, your DETERMINATION refills and you have regained the ability to save. The relief is shown by your expression. You may not want to lie to Ozpin soon, because he seems to be able to read expressions well.**

"That being said, I haven't been introduced formally to you and your friends here. Would you care to tell me of your little group?"

"O-of course, s-sir."

"Just call me Ozpin. It's fine."

 ***Ozpin gives off a calming, fatherly aura. Your MERCY actions have increased percentage of working on enemies in this area.**

"Well...I'm Frisk. Frisk Dreemurr...I climbed to the peak of Mt. Ebott and fell into the Underground, a world underneath our own full of monsters. These monsters were actually very friendly, save for a few murderous robots, demonic flowers and Annoying Dogs. The Underground was where I met the two skeletons who are here with us, Sans, the one in the room with us now, and Papyrus, the taller one who says 'Nyeh-heh-heh.' Long story short, I saved the Underground from certain doom with the help of the friends I gathered along the way and the continued support from my brother, Chara, who can be a little...not right in the head...sometimes. The barrier keeping the monsters sealed in the Underground was broken and the monsters began to live in society again, but I'm not even sure what year it is anymore, so I don't think I can go back and save who I had left behind."

"That is indeed a lot to take in. If it is any help to you, It has been about nine year since the monsters...erupted...from Mt. Ebott. Mt. Ebott is actually right behind Beacon, so we were the first people in the world to experience these so called "monsters." They were rather pleasant creatures. I am especially worried for a pair of strange goat monsters that were looking for..."

Ozpin stopped for a moment, shocked.

"Two eight-year-old children. One, a girl in a purple and blue striped sweater, and the other, a boy in a green and yellow striped sweater. Ms. Dreemurr, it's been nine years since your arrival here. I'd tell you of your current situation, but I'm afraid you already know what you want to do."

"I need to find those goat people," Frisk said, determination filling her voice.

 ***You look around to find that no one is rousing to come and help you. You feel somewhat embarrassed and your dodging speed has gone down by one level.**

"So are you planning on going out in that hospital gown, or are you going to come with me to retrieve your belongings, Ms. Dreemurr?" said Ozpin expectantly.


	2. Chapter 1 - Reborn from the Ashes

**A/N:** **I'm really happy you're all enjoying the story so far. It's only been one chapter, and yet we hit 81 views and 70 unique visitors in 8 hours. Usually, I hit that milestone a day after the story is published. Either this is a very well written piece, or the topic is popular. I'm gonna go with "the topic is popular," because I don't want to sound like a self-patronizing asshole. Once again, I don't own RWBY or Undertale, otherwise I would be an insanely popular internet celebrity with millions of dollars.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"So, Ms. Dreemurr...your belongings are in locker 777. I hope you'll find that everything is accounted for. Your brother's things are in locker 666. The two skeletons joining you have their belongings by their bedside already, should they choose to follow you when they wake up," Professor Ozpin said, his expression warm in a small smile as he sipped calmly at the mug in his hand.

I opened the locker and found my old outfit. A purple and blue striped sweater, a pair of jeans and small mountain climbing boots. I put on the sweater, feeling more like it was a crop top, and the jeans felt more like jean shorts. I decided to leave my shoes in the locker and bring along a picture of me and my friends. It was a picture we had taken only moments before my collapse.

 ***Putting on your old adventuring gear and remembering your friends, you feel a sense of nostalgia. You are filled with Determination...Even if the clothes are a bit tight.**

"Can you take me to my brother's locker? I need something of his that I don't want him to have for a while," I said, nervous about what I was going to do.

"Of course. If you'll just follow me..." he trailed off, signaling me to walk with him.

A moment later, we had the locker open. His familiar sweater, almost still a little bit too big for him, green and yellow, black sweatpants, brown hiking boots and his signature red heart locket were all in the locker. He never goes anywhere without it.

I had my eyes on something in particular. A small, dull, silver knife that has seen better days was sitting at the bottom of the locker. I immediately bent down to grab it, stopping only as Ozpin spoke.

"So what are you planning to do with that?"

"There's still someone in the Underground that needs saving."

"And you think that they'll just listen to you?"

"I was planning on talking to him to see if he wanted saving. If he doesn't...well I'll just wait until he's ready."

Ozpin sighed.

"I remember my days of youthful optimism. At some point, just be ready. Peace never lasts very long. Even if one war is ended, another may still be raging. That other war will soon come to our home, I feel. This is going to turn out to be an interesting year."

"Why is it going to be interesting?"

"I run this school. In my time, I've never had a more interesting start to a year than this one. First, the monsters come back to us, and then the White Fang declare unofficial war on the different countries of the world. What's next? A teenage prodigy performs an act of heroism and gets moved to the school years early because of it?"

"Could be anything. Is there a reason why you're telling me this?"

"You're of the age where you can attend this school, and I see potential that you have yet to reach in all of you and your friends. I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to attend my school."

After a minute of deliberation, I decided.

"Why not?"

"So I'll just enter your information and enroll you now. You have about a week before term starts. Good luck."

 ***The wish of safe adventuring spurs you on to complete your goal. Walk speed is doubled in the areas adjacent to Mount Ebott.**

* * *

"damn it. my head is killin' me." Sans said, waking up to darkness.

"i should really get my bearings. looks a bit dark. where'd i _park_ my _park_ a?"

"You seem a tad lost. You are Sans, correct?" said a voice in the door.

"i prefer sans, but i go by a couple different names. who's askin'?"

"What other names do you have? Do you have _any_ last name?"

"for last names, i like Gaster. he wasn't really my father, but i guess you could say he adopted me and papyrus after he found us holed up in Snowdin. as for other names, i have ness. i used to be named that. back when i was human. stuff was simpler back then."

"Would you prefer I call you Ness or Sans?"

"sans."

Moments of silence passed...

A yawn sounded out, followed by "Augh, where am I?"

"chara?"

"Who's there?"

"no-one. who brought you here?"

"I'm warnin' you. I have my-"

The boy grasped at his bedside table frantically.

"Where's my knife? Where's my knife? WHERE'S MY KNIFE?"

"Calm down, Chara. Your sister has your knife. She's gone off to do something and then she said she would be leaving to go and find her parents," said the voice attempting to calm him down.

"tori and fluffybuns, right?" asked Sans

"I believe they said their names were Toriel and Asgore. No-one said anything about 'Fluffybuns.'"

"where's she goin'?"

"Mount Ebott."

"then she's in for a bad time."

* * *

 **At the top of the mountain**

"Well, I fell down here once and got out okay...who's to say I can't do it again?" I said to myself, trying to reassure myself that nothing would go wrong.

 ***The feeling of trepidation building inside you...it fills you with...Determination.**

I decided to let myself fall into the crater, hoping something was there to catch me. After a moment of falling, I landed in a bed of small yellow flowers. I walked into the next room, where a small patch of grass sat in the middle of the floor. From that patch of grass, a small yellow flower sprouted...smiling happily.

 _Asriel..._ I thought.

"HOWDY! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower! Looks like you're new to the underground...Golly, you must be _sooo_ confused. Don't worry, I'll teach you how things work down here!"

"Hey Flowey, I have a question. What are you gonna teach me..."

"Well, golly, I'll teach you every-"

"If I already know how it is down here?"

"I don't know where you get off lying like that, but that's not nice!"

"You don't recognize me? I'm honestly hurt. We met nine years ago...in this same room. You said exactly the same thing. I saved your soul. Come on, Asriel, you can fight this! Don't give up hope! When we fought, my soul refused to die! Yours can do the same! It's still in there! Refuse to let Flowey take control!"

"I-who-what-I-nnngh-how? What happened? Who are you? Where am I?" Flowey said, struggling to retain control of the body he inhabited. He lost in the end, and I got to talk to Asriel.

"F-Frisk? Is...Is that you?"

"In the flesh!"

"But how?"

"I was in a nine-year coma after I left the underground with the rest of the monsters. I kind of grew up a bit since I left, but I'm still the same old me...I see you've grown too!" I said, matter-of-factly.

It was indeed true that he had grown. He was significantly taller, the fur on his goat-man body had grown too long, almost giving him a fur-mullet, and he had finally started to grow horns like his father, Asgore.

"I've been great, thanks, Frisk. So why me?" he asked unenthusiastically.

"We're family now. We stick together. We have each other's backs. We both have half of each other's souls, so that just magnifies the need to stay with each other. Plus, I think Asgore and Toriel would like their long-dead son back. It's a win-win and a miracle all in the same day."

"You make a good point, but I need to get the hang of walking again. I haven't been out and about in a while and I'm a bit weak from fighting off Flowey. Can I lean on your shoulder?"

"Of course. That's what I'm here for."

"You really are serious about this, right?"

"Why wouldn't I be? But, first order of business: clothes shopping. We can't even approach Mom and Dad's house with these old things on. And don't worry about money, a nice man gave me a ton of it when I went out looking for you."

"Shopping? UUUUGH! You and your girl stuff always find a way to ruin the fun in everything!"

"It's a necessity. Besides, while I was walking through town, I found this shop that sells sweaters _just like_ yours."


	3. Chapter 2 - The Returning Hero

**A/N:** **I'm so happy I decided to write this. It's getting reviews daily, and a lot of them are just like the stuff I used to get, like corrections, comments, and compliments. I'm really happy. This is actually the first story of mine that has really** _ **taken off**_ **besides "A True Patriot." Since I have no idea what happens next in the plot, I need my brother to work with me on it, so it'll be a while before I can get his** _ **lazy bones**_ **up to do some work. Meanwhile, I'm here, working my** _ **tailbone**_ **off, getting a ton of work done. A** _ **skele**_ **ton.**

* * *

 **Vale town center, 3:00 AM**

A lot of the shops were closed, and rightfully so. It was really late...or was it really early? I'm never too sure about that.

Anyway, me and Asriel, who had gotten the hang of walking again, ambled into the town square to find a clothing shop open late.

"Frisk, come on. We're not gonna be able to find one open this late. Let's just walk to Mom and Dad's house already," said Asriel, his patience running thin.

"I'm sure it was around here somewhere. I remember the name _and_ their hours! 'Wicked Weaves, open past the Witching Hour and on until morning.' It's definitely somewhere close; I can see a light around the corner."

"I hope you're right. My legs are getting tired."

"Awww, does wittle baby Azzy want a piggy-back from his sissy-poo?"

"Shut up and walk," Asriel said, feigning annoyance.

"Okay..."

We turned the corner, and just as I thought, it was the exact shop I had listed, their catchphrase under the name in gleaming silver lettering. The doors were of a heavy, dark oak, and the shop's outside held an air of mystery. We thought nothing of it, and ended up better off for it. It turned out to be a simple gimmick. We didn't leave without buying anything, though, as we were in desperate need of new clothing.

I found a sweater like my old one, but with different colors, a warm gold and a soothing red striping across the sweater smoothly, the hand-knit texture feeling comforting on my tired body. I had decided to buy some sweatpants to allow for more freedom of movement. The old "jeans" I had now fit me like jean _shorts_ and that made it somewhat uncomfortable to walk anywhere. Asriel found himself a button-up flower-patterned shirt adorned with bright pinks and blues, and a pair of slim-fitting jeans. He looked a lot like his father in that outfit.

We walked out, thoroughly satisfied with our purchases, and decided to take a moment to walk around town before finding Mom and Dad's house. We found a small shop called "Dust 'Til Dawn" and decided we could take a look.

As we walked through the door, the smile of an old man met our eyes as he was just about to sit down.

"Welcome to _Dust 'Til Dawn_! The only Dust shop that's open this late at night!"

"Dust...shop?" I asked, looking around at the inside of the shop.

"Dust! Refined, mined, and energized crystals that enhance the power of the soul!"

"Enhance...power of the soul?" I asked, more to myself than anyone, stealthily stealing a glance at Asriel.

"Quite! A rather curious thing, really, we've had this stuff in our society for as long as we've been on this planet!"

"Hey, Frisk, there's someone else in here..." Asriel said, somewhat shaken by their appearance.

"Asriel, please, I'm sure they're just trying to enjoy the night while it's still here. Why don't we find a corner to hole up in and read for a while?"

"That sounds nice..." he said quietly.

And so, we did just that. I felt like an entirely new person in the clothes I had bought, and I'm sure Asriel felt like a new person regardless of what he was wearing. We read through different magazines about different topics and the store was quiet except for the soft undertones of a rock ballad playing from the headphones of someone across the store.

That was until someone new walked into the store.

"Welcome to _Dust 'Til Dawn._ The only-"

"Do you have _any idea_ how _hard_ it is to find a Dust shop open _this late_?" the man in the white coat said to the cashier, waving a gun around.

I saw the look in his eyes. A look of determination. The bad kind.

"Excuse me, sir?" I said to get his attention away from the cashier.

"Is that a question, girly?" said the man.

"I didn't mean to offend you or anything, but this is just a simple shop, whose shopkeep is trying to make an honest living peacefully. Can you please just leave this poor old man to his business?" I pleaded.

He laughed, and then said, "Look here, girly. The world is a lot crappier than it looks. I'm probably walking, talking evidence of that."

"You just have to learn to look at the good in a situation. Even if it isn't obvious at first."

"There's no good in us, girly. We're criminals. Internationally infamous. Now move before we hurt you _and_ the shopkeep."

I heard from somewhere else, a loud, "Put your hands in the air!"

The sounds that followed were strange. First, the man who said it was flung to the front of the shop, and a second one was thrown out the window, shocked with some strange power.

That other person in the store had kicked the first one to the front of the shop, and Asriel, now in his God of Hyperdeath form, had shocked the other one through the window. This gave the other person an opportunity for something. A cloak of red flashed by, following a girl in a black and red dress. She hopped through the window and took out something. It was a weapon. As it unfolded, she shut off her music and stood, waiting for their attack.

The man in the white coat had temporarily forgotten about us, and said to his goons, "Well? Get her!"

We helped as much as we could, drawing the henchmen's attention away from the girl long enough to incapacitate her foes, and Asriel took care of as many as he saw fit.

As the fight drew to a close, I was bruised and battered, Asriel had a few cuts on his face, and the girl had remained in pristine condition.

"As much as I'd just _love_ to continue this little tea party, I've got to run. Tah-tah!" the man said, shooting a blast of energy from the end of his cane.

After we recovered from the blast, he was gone, climbing a fire escape to an aircraft for an escape. We followed close behind and eventually, another fight broke out, this time between us and a mysterious lady, whose face was hidden in shadows standing in the aircraft's cargo hold. Her eyes were flaming with anger, visible even in the darkness that concealed her face.

Then, as an explosion nearly caught us, we were pushed out of the way like we were being moved by Sans' telekinetic ability.

Someone else made quick work of the mystery woman's attacks and the aircraft retreated into the night, activating a cloaking device as it took off.

As I checked on Asriel to make sure his wound's weren't serious, I heard a squeal and the words "can I have your autograph?" uttered enthusiastically.

We were soon in a dark room under a bright light, faced with the person that saved the three of us.

"What did you think you were _doing_? You could have been killed!" she said, anger obvious in her voice.

"But we weren't killed. That's what counts, right?" said Asriel, trying to reason with her.

"Your recklessness cost citizens upwards of hundreds of lien. That, _and_ the criminal got away! I suppose I should commend you on holding your own against a hunter-level opponent for as long as you did. If it was up to me, you would be sent home...with a pat on the back," she said, somewhat more happily than the rest of her lecture, "and a slap on the wrist," she stated bluntly, slapping her riding crop on the table.

"But...there is someone who wants to meet you," she continued.

Ozpin walked in, giving me and Asriel a small smile.

"Frisk, I'm glad you saved who you intended to. Just warn me in advance if you're going to go on a crime-fighting spree," he joked, "and as for you, young miss...you...have silver eyes," he said, more seriously, almost in wonderment.

"Uhhh..." the girl in red said, clearly confused as to why he said that.

"Moving on then, where did you learn to do...this?" Ozpin said, placing a plate of cookies on the table and playing video footage of the fight on a small screen in his hands.

"Signal Academy?" she said, hopeful that complying to answer their questions would get her out of the trouble she was so obviously in.

"So what is an adorable little girl such as yourself doing at a school intended to train warriors?"

"Well...I want to be a _huntress._ "

"You wish to slay monsters."

"Well there's that, the paycheck, and my mother always said to help people, so I thought "Oh well, might as well make a career out of it," that and huntersandhuntressesarejustthatmuchmoreawesomeandromanticandjustohhhh, you know?"

"That's one way of putting it...so Signal trains its students to use the most dangerous melee combat weapon known to man?"

"One teacher in particular, really."

"Funny...the only other scythe wielder of this skill I know is a dusty old Qrow."

"Mhmm, thath muh unkerr!"

She swallowed and tried again.

"That's my uncle Qrow. I was complete _garbage_ before he took me under his wing and now I'm all like _huaaaa, hiyaaaah, wataaaaa,_ " she said, making poses.

Ozpin sat down in front of us, asking, "Do you know who I am?"

I decided to chip in and say, "You're Ozpin..."

"Headmaster of Beacon Academy," she finished, her eyes widening.

"I was wondering something."

"What is it, if you don't mind my asking?" she said politely.

"Do you want to come to my school?"

"More than anything in the world."

"Well..." he started, looking at the other person in the room, who had saved us before, and finished, saying, "Okay."

* * *

 **On the streets of Vale, 5:00 AM**

We were released after an official police interrogation of witnesses at the crime scene and said our goodbyes to the girl we fought alongside, who we found to be named Ruby Rose.

We decided it was finally time to find our parents. We would meet up with Chara most likely tomorrow...or is it already tomorrow?

We weaved our way through the groggy, newly-awoken streets of Vale, making our way to the peaceful outskirts of the town, where I was told that a simple wooden cabin stood. Sure enough, after an immense amount of walking, a wooden cabin of about four rooms sat in front of us, surrounded by a forest of trees that seemed to be stuck in the season of fall.

"This looks like the place," I said, trying to reassure Asriel.

"You sure? I mean, it looks a bit...small...for them," he responded, still holding on to his doubts.

"We can only be sure if we knock the door or call the phone."

"Good point. Can you see if Mom brought her phone with her?"

I called my adoptive mother's phone, hoping she still had it with her.

It rang.

It rang.

It rang again.

 _But nobody came._

I called again, somewhat impatient.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Click.

"Hello? Who could this be? Do you not realize just how late it is?" said the voice over the phone.

"Hey, Mom. I'm back. I'm outside," I said, letting her hang onto every word I said.

The door to the house burst open with the force of a hit from Undyne, the fish warrior and former captain of the royal guard.

"My child? Is it really you?" she said, her mind not believing her eyes.

"Yeah. And you won't _believe_ who I brought with me."

"Howdy, Mom...How've you been?" Asriel said, stepping out from behind me.

"My little boy, how you've grown! You look almost exactly like your father. Your horns are growing in too!" she exclaimed, over the moon with joy at the fact that two of the people she loved the most in the world had just waltzed up to her doorstep.

"Come in, come in, please, we have much to discuss...Oh but you must be so _tired_! We can talk in the morning. I can't _wait_ until Asgore sees you!"

"Mom, we're not tired, can we please talk now? I just woke up from a coma, so I'm pretty sure that all the hours of school I missed will make up for _one night_ of walking around the town," I said, looking over at Asriel, who had just begun to lean over and rest his head in my lap.

"It's _this_ one that you want to worry about. He's been a flower for about...ten or twelve years, so he's feeling a bit sore," I continued, stroking his fluffy, long ear.

"Well I suppose it'll do that to you. So where is your brother?"

"Chara? He's still at Beacon. He's probably trying to get to town and find us."

"Beacon?"

"We're at the age where we can go there, and protecting others seems like a good way to get him off of his...'habits.'"

"You've been _accepted there?"_

"Yes we have. So have Sans and Papyrus. I just had to go and find Asriel and help him before I went out to find you guys."

"That's very nice of you to think of another person before thinking of your own well-being. It's a very noble thing to do. Just be safe while you're doing it."

"I'll try."

"Do you think Asriel could join you?"

"I could contact the headmaster and ask him if it's okay, if that's what you want me to do."

"Thank you, my child."

I dialed in a number on the small flip-phone in my pocket.

"Ozpin speaking. Ms. Dreemurr, to what do I owe this honor?"

"I've found my parent's house and I've saved who I wanted to. My mother has a question for you."

"Then let's hear her question."

I passed the phone to my mother. Taking the phone gently, she said softly, "This is Toriel. I am Frisk's mother...by adoption. I was wondering, if I'm not asking too much of you, if my eldest child, Asriel could attend the school with Frisk."

"Can I have his full name?"

"Asriel Dreemurr."

"Age?"

"17. Soon to be 18."

"Any hobbies, quirks, special achievements, or things he wants kept secret from the rest of the student body?"

"He's very sociable, and a respectful boy who only fights when attacked first. He's a monster, a goat-boy. He once carried the dead body of his sibling out of the Underground through sheer willpower and passed through the barrier, delivering his brother to his favorite flowers. He died trying to do it, and came back as a demonic flower. Frisk helped him back to us recently after he stayed behind in the Underground to become the new caretaker of the Ruins while I was gone."

"Thank you. We'll be expecting him with Frisk, Chara, Sans and Papyrus in a week's time."

"Hear that, Az? You're goin' to Beacon with me and Chara!" I said quietly, rubbing his fuzzy head.


	4. Chapter 3 - Welcome To Beacon

**A/N:** **I just had some fun with the Microsoft word font list. Sadly, somehow we don't seem to have Helvetica. Or Aster. Which kinda stinks. Well...whatever. Speaking of fonts, I know it doesn't show up on the website, but I actually use the typefaces that Sans and Papyrus speak in when they speak in the chapters...I guess it's kinda like method acting...only it's more like method** _ **writing**_ **. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Airship to Beacon, 1 week later**

"so this is our ticket to beacon, eh? a bit big, don'tcha think?" said Sans, curiously.

" **NONSENSE, BROTHER! IT'S PERFECTLY FINE! I WONDER HOW MANY HUMANS THIS STRANGE VESSEL CAN HOLD!** " said Papyrus, enthusiastically.

"well at least i'm here to watch your backbone."

" **NOT THIS AGAIN...** "

"Not what again, Papyrus?" I asked.

" **MY BROTHER'S INCESSANT PUNS! WHAT ELSE?** "

"I'm sure he's just tryin' to tickle your _funny_ bone, Pap," said Asriel, succeeding only in making him angrier.

" **KING ASGORE'S CLONE, I SIMPLY CANNOT DEAL WITH TWO OF YOU BABBLING FOOLS AND YOUR PUNS!** "

"Eh, you'll get over it sooner or later. I'm sure you can _bust a few guts..._ even if you don't _have any_."

"couldn't've said it better myself, goat-kiddo. we're gonna be great friends."

"What can I say, Sans? _Tibia_ honest with you, I find you and your puns quite _humerus_."

"Well, excuse me for _shin_ -truding on the conversation, but something's going on by the TV's," I said, diverting their attention.

" _And now, the news."_

"Hello, my darlings! It's simply wonderful to be back on the air, isn't it? I'm here with the news for an update on recent events. International Criminal, Roman Torchwick has evaded the authorities once again. I'd certainly love to get my hands on him. The officials have claimed his sentence to be..."Death by glamour!" You all know what that means! Special Guest star!" The newscaster, who I knew as Mettaton, the crazed human-hunting-robot-turned-TV-star, said.

"death by glamour, huh? that's a new one. hopefully it won't be as bad as the last show in the underground. it had pretty good special effects though. that human almost looked like the real thing, right frisk?" Sans said, nudging my elbow.

"Yeah. Almost lifelike...but I kinda like the show."

As I said that, the screens that showed the news report changed to a video of the woman who defended me, Asriel and Ruby against that mystery woman in the plane-thing.

"Greetings, students. I am Glynda Goodwitch. Beacon's vice-headmistress and head combat instructor. Here at Beacon, you will be trained to fight the Creatures of Grimm. These creatures have recently become very rare, but are still a problem for many. We aim to teach you how to defend yourself against them, as well as others. You will become hunters and huntresses through your training and we at Beacon pride ourselves on producing the best hunters and huntresses in the world. You may eventually become one of them, and it is your duty to uphold the peace we so lovingly cling to. Due to the recent developments in Monster Rights movements, Monsters, as well as humans and faunas are welcome to join Beacon's ranks."

The screen shut down afterwards and we were given the chance to look around at the area.

"Look, guys! You can see Mount Ebott from here!" I said.

"looks like home ain't too far after all."

"Sans, there's no reason to cry your _eye sockets_ out. We're on the surface! We made it! And we're going to a school where we can perfect our skills at dunking fools!" said Asriel, trying to cheer up Sans.

I snuck a peek over his shoulder.

It was a poorly drawn picture of three smiling people. "Don't Forget" was written underneath the drawings.

He crumpled the picture in his fist and shed a single, blue tear.

"I guess I could never really forget this place, could I?" I heard him mumble, sounding serious.

A moment of silence washed over us.

I put my arm around his shoulder and stood there. Simply a friendly touch had comforted him. Perhaps it reminded him of something. Whatever he wanted to remember, it was worth what he's gone through.

* * *

 **Beacon Entrance Courtyard**

We walked out of the airship and past a garbage can, which currently had someone's head in it, making retching noises.

"Poor guy...He might need some help," I said.

"i'm sure he can handle it, kiddo. that one's more powerful than he looks," said Sans.

I walked over to help him, disregarding Sans' warning.

"Hey...uhhh...you alright?" I asked awkwardly.

"What...does it...look like?" he said in-between gags.

"I know how you feel. I woke up from a nine-year coma a week ago. Motion sickness sucks, am I right?"

" _Thank you!_ Motion sickness is much more of a common problem than most people realize!"

"You got it. What's your name?"

"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it."

 ***Seeing the Amateurish young blond carry himself so confidently, you cannot help but smile. His demeanor and friendly attitude fills you with Determination.**

"It _is_ sweet. No wonder they do. Frisk Dreemurr. It's nice to meet you."

"I-I-I uhhh...huh. Didn't expect that to work."

"It's much more effective than you think. A sense of humor is the best thing to have when looking for a special someone, but maybe you should tone down the fake confidence. It'll kinda make people think you're full of yourself."

"R-right..." he said, deflating slightly.

"Try puns. Puns are a good way to break the ice."

"Well I don't know any good ones."

I beckoned him to follow me.

"Come, grasshopper. I have _much_ to teach you," I said jokingly.

He chuckled.

"That's rule number one. Never be afraid to embarrass yourself. It's always fun to feel stupid if it gets your friends to laugh," I said.

* * *

 **Beacon Main Courtyard, Fountain area (Chara POV)**

"UGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! If I check these, and even a _single vial_ of this Dust is cracked, you are paying for it!" yelled someone in front of us.

I knew we weren't in for a fun morning.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY! I GOT TURNED AROUND AND I TRIPPED!"

"WELL MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A KLUTZ, WE WOULDN'T BE COVERED IN ASH RIGHT NOW!"

"What's going on here?" I asked, sounding intimidating.

"This dunce 'tripped' on my luggage and sent my suitcases _flying_. If she broke one of these, I swear I'll-"

"You'll _**what?**_ " I asked, my eyes flashing red.

"I'll...uhhh... _not_ kill her?"

" _ **If you do this to anyone...EVER again. I swear I'll find you. And you won't get off so easily next time,**_ " I said, itching to pull out my weapon.

Walking away, I noticed Asriel walk up to the girl, who was giving him a sharp look.

"And what do _you_ want?" she asked him.

I growled angrily.

"Uhh...you dropped this..." he said kindly, handing her a vial of red liquid.

" _Wonderful._ Now I have to check the vials for cracks _and_ diseases."

" _ **WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY BROTHER?**_ "

 ***DETERMINATION.**

Most of what happened next was a blur. I pulled out my knife, circled her for a bit, and moved in to attack. I tried resisting my tendencies like Frisk had told me to, and in the end, she ended up knocked out in a heap of her luggage with a fair-sized lump on the top of her head. I congratulated myself on the small victory against the habit that had been eating away at my soul for a while now. My LV had gone down since my time in the underground, and I lost some EXP in that battle, and I intended to keep things that way. If it meant I could stay with my family, I'd do everything within my power to do it.

"Chara!" someone said.

I was still coming down from the high of Determination, so I couldn't exactly tell who it was. My eyes faded from red to brown and my vision got clearer.

Frisk was running to me with a blonde-haired boy in tow.

"Chara, what did you do? Look at the state of her! Do you know who this is or how much trouble we could be in?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Her yelling gave me a headache, she was harassing another girl, one in red, and she insulted Asriel. No-one insults Asriel and gets out of it without a few dents in their skull."

"That's Weiss Schnee! Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company! I may have woken up a week ago, but don't think I don't pay attention to the news! This'll be up in an hour, I'm sure of it! "Local Monster Rights Advocate Assaults Schnee Dust Heiress!"

"You should see the one she was talking to before she said something to Asriel."

"Who?"

A new voice sounded from below us.

"Down here."

We looked down at the source and found Ruby lying down on the stone pavement.

"Thanks for doing that...She was pretty loud..." she said.

"See? I'm _defending_ people! This isn't just senseless violence! That had a purpose!" I said excitedly.

"And I'm very proud of you for that, but was it really that bad that you had to knock her out?"

"She implied that Asriel was disease-ridden."

"She did _not,_ " she said in disbelief.

"She did."

"She got what she deserved. Our job here is done."

Me, Frisk and Asriel walked to the spot that Sans told us to meet at, leaving Jaune to "work his magic" on Ruby.

* * *

 **Beacon Assembly Hall, Afternoon (Frisk POV)**

"So what do you think we'll be doing to protect people?" I asked my friends.

"dunkin' fools?" said Sans hopefully.

" **MAKING DISTRESSED HUMANS FOOD?** " asked Papyrus, hoping someone would let him utilize his cooking skills.

"Capturing and torturing criminals until they reveal information about other criminals?" Chara asked, letting himself slip for a moment.

"Helping people?" replied Asriel.

" _Finally_ someone _sensible_ ," I said, telling Asriel he was right.

"Look, unlike most people here, I have common sense. I wear normal clothes, I act normally and I think like someone who still has their sanity," he said, irritated that he was the only person who ended up being right.

"You and me are in the same, boat, Az."

A tap on the microphone and a squeal of feedback from the speakers signaled the beginning of a speech.

"Thank you all for coming here and accepting our invitation to study at the most prestigious school for those who wish to defend the people. I would first like to welcome the newest addition to the ranks of hunters and huntresses in training, the Monsters from the underground. We are all _very_ excited to have you here, so we would like to introduce to everyone our guest speakers, who also happen to be from the underground," said Ozpin, who had stepped up to the microphone momentarily only to walk offstage and watch from the wings.

All of a sudden, a trapdoor in the middle of the stage opened up, shooting something into the air.

"Is that..."

"...really..."

"...who I think it is?"

Chara, myself and Asriel said in order.

Sure enough, a boulder had shot out from the floor with a certain, well-known, mer-folk monster underneath it, holding it above her head.

"NNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" she shouted, falling and crushing the boulder into pieces underneath her.

The crowd cheered as Undyne, famous spear-user, warrior and cook-extraordinaire, dropped to the stage, spear out and eagerly awaiting a fight. She quickly walked to the microphone and said, "Sup, punks. Undyne. I'm just here to demonstrate something and you just saw it. By the time you leave here after training here _**INTENSELY**_ for four years, you're gonna be able to do _that_ with just your weapons. _**JUST LIKE IN AN ANIME!**_ "

I forgot to mention that she was obsessed with anime.

"Well, anyways, I need some water. I'm gonna hand the mike to my good pal, Asgore, King of the Monsters."

A large, fluffy goat-man walked out in front of us in a Hawaiian shirt and brown cargo shorts.

"Howdy, all. I certainly can't do what Undyne just did, but that is precisely why she is captain of the Monsters' royal guard. I am simply here to give a speech in hopes you will find the motivation to keep going. I'm not that eloquent, if you'll excuse my lack of vocabulary," he said, careful not to touch the microphone in fear of generating feedback.

"Moving on...Friends! Human, Faunus, Monster, whatever you happen to be, welcome to Beacon! Myself, being a monster, am elated to hear our recent breakthrough in Monster Rights. I still feel, however, that the world has much to worry about. With the threat of the Grimm, we have to do all we can with what we are given to ensure our safety. With the help of Dust, we have found new ways to help others. Now, the enforcement of peace falls to you, the next generation. We all have our moments where we feel we cannot continue; where we give up trying and move on to something easier. As a hunter or huntress, you have to stay on your task. You have to stay determined! No matter how hard it is, no matter what is telling you to break down and quit, you must resist! You cannot give up! _You_ are the future of humanity, faunus-kind, and the monster populace! This weight is a burden only you can carry, and it must be done with honor, valor, bravery, and above all, determination."

 ***Hearing Asgore's inspirational speech reminds you of your deaths in the underground. Reliving his motivating words fills you with Determination.**

"On to more...immediate matters, you'll be sleeping in the ballroom tonight and your initiation ceremony is tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening," he finished.

* * *

 **Ballroom, Nighttime**

"so kid. what's goin' on? i haven't really talked to ya since the airship, so i figured that now would be the best time," Sans said to me.

"What do you mean, 'what's goin' on?'" I asked, intrigued, imitating him.

"well i was wonderin' why asriel was back. i knew he was flowey, sure, but how'd you get him to come back so quick?" Sans continued, elaborating.

"To be completely honest with you, I have no idea myself. I tried my best to talk to him, and I guess it worked. He had some time to think about his actions, and I guess he just thought it was time to come back? That's more of a question you should ask _him_ , you know," I told him.

"i know he ain't the sharpest crayon in the shed, but he might not take that too well. change of subject, what's this i hear about chara?" he said, getting his serious, interrogative voice on.

"Chara found a girl verbally assaulting another girl for tripping over her luggage and possibly breaking her Dust vials. He got between them and warned the girl to back off. From what I heard, she looked scared of him, but then Asriel walked up to her to give her a Dust vial she dropped, and she insulted him. Chara got upset and tried to fight himself, and ended up hitting her over the head with the butt of his knife. That's where I came in with Jaune, and we argued about the situation."

"he went a bit overboard, don'tcha think?"

" _That's what I said!_ "

"well at least he didn't kill her. speakin' of, isn't that her over there?"

I looked to where his finger pointed, and I saw a pair of girls fighting about something. One, I recognized as Ruby, the other was indeed the girl who Chara had knocked out.

I decided to walk over and help.

"OH NOW YOU'RE ON MY SIDE!"

"I WAS NEVER AGAINST YOU TO BEGIN WITH, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"

"BOTH OF YOU STOP NOW!" I shouted, bringing their attention to me.

A familiar glow shone from my chest. The glow of my soul.

 ***Crabby Heiress approaches!**

 ***ACT**

 ***Talk**

"Please, Weiss, just stop, there are people trying to sleep!"

" _That's what I've been trying to tell this dunce!_ "

 ***Seems talking will do you no good.**

 ***ITEM**

 ***Dust vial**

"My brother gave you this vial this morning. I'm really sorry about Chara, he's a bit overprotective."

"You mean that _thing_ is your brother?"

 ***Smells like Tsundere.**

 ***ACT**

 ***Talk**

"Yes. He is. I'm trying to apologize for the actions of the other two. I'm really sorry, but I really just don't want to have this on my conscience. I don't want an innocent little girl to get hurt because she made an enemy on her first day."

" _That_ was not my fault either! She clearly wasn't looking where she was going and she's got to pay!"

 ***Quiet Bookworm intrudes!**

 ***The candle she's holding is blown out and the room is awash in darkness.**

 ***Battle won?**

 ***0 EXP, 0 G.**

With that resolved, I slowly made my way back to my sleeping bag using Sans' glowing eye to guide me.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hey, guys, what's up? It's been a while since I left a note at the end of a chapter! All I really wanted to know was if you guys wanted to see more of this style of representing the fight scenes instead of the normal fighting action. Based on how many people respond, I'll either tally votes or just go back to normal fight scene description.**


	5. Chapter 4 - Pawns, Players, and Pieces

**A/N:** **I'm so happy, you guys! 23 Alerts and 12 Favorites! This is the most I've had on any story of mine! This couldn't have happened if it wasn't for you guys! Thanks! With that, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Locker Room, day of initiation (Frisk POV)**

I sleepily made my way over to my locker, grabbing my new sweater and sweatpants and the small flip phone Toriel gave me back in the Ruins.

"So, Frisk...where's your weapon?" I heard Ruby say behind me.

I spun to face her and said, "Weapon? No, I'm a pacifist, I don't fight."

"Wait. If you don't fight, what _do_ you do?"

"I negotiate."

Ruby's sister, Yang, butt in, saying " _negotiating_ isn't gonna help ya with Grimm."

"Grimm?" I asked.

"Creatures of Grimm. They feed off of the negative emotions of humans, monsters, and faunus."

" _No-one said we'd have to_ hurt _anything!"_ I exclaimed, nervous.

"I'm sure you'll be _fiiine._ "

" _How would I be fine?"_

"I dunno...good luck?"

"Oh, _thanks_."

* * *

 **Cliff, moments before initiation**

We all stood there, listening to Professor Ozpin tell us about the dangers of the Emerald Forest, the dense jungle about a half a mile beneath us.

I could see Chara getting excited at just the thought of impending doom. Asriel looked worried. I looked to my left, seeing Papyrus standing tall and unfazed. Sans's eye was glowing in anticipation.

"And before you go off to form teams of your own, since the rumor has been floating around, I'll put it to rest. You will form teams today. You are going to have to cooperate well with each other. That being said, the first person you make eye-contact with will be your partner for the next. _Four. Years,"_ Ozpin finished, emphasizing his seriousness authoritatively.

 _Okay then...this is gonna be much harder than I originally thought..._ I thought, mentally slapping myself to scold myself for being so stupid.

"Or in a few cases, eye _socket_ contact," he added, making Sans chuckle and Papyrus try his best to scowl.

Without another word, people started launching off the cliff. I looked around and decided to will my soul into being as I was thrown from the cliff.

 _Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue...come on, blue!_

With enough determination, and I'm not sure I can explain how else I did it, I willed my soul to turn blue and tried to slow my descent. To my surprise, it worked, if only just to slow down enough to get my bearings and find somewhere to land safely.

Once I did land safely, a whole new range of problems arose. I was alone in a forest with nowhere to go to figure out where I was.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I shouted, hoping for a reply.

"WHO GOES THERE? BE YOU GRIMM?" I heard a distant Papyrus say.

"It's Frisk! Is that you Papyrus?" I asked, hoping he could follow my voice to find me.

Lo and behold, I turned to my left and he was pushing his way past the overgrown jungle of the forest towards me.

"HELLO HUMAN! HOW ARE YOU? I'VE BEEN WONDERFUL!"

I looked up at him and focused my eyes on his eye sockets. They flashed orange for a second and then returned to normal.

"IT WOULD APPEAR WE ARE NOW PARTNERS! GET ON MY SHOULDERS AND WE SHALL JOURNEY TO THE TEMPLE!"

I followed his orders and he began to run, shouting, "JOURNEEEEEEEEEY!"

 ***Finding a familiar and friendly face so quickly into initiation makes you feel safe. Damage reduced in the region EMERALD FOREST.**

* * *

 **In the forest, Forest Temple (Narrator)**

"i'm gettin' kinda tired. might have to take a shortcut," Sans said, wiping the vertical plate of his skull with his sleeve. **(That's the forehead part, I looked it up.)**

Sans opened a rift in the fabric of space and time and walked into it.

"gotta love wormholes," he said, sighing.

He walked out to find he was accompanied by another skeleton man.

"shoulda known this'd happen at some point."

" **y'know-ow-ow i think-nk-nk we should just ge-e-e-%#()^ & get a move on, buddy**," said the other skeleton man.

"what timeline are you from?" Sans asked him.

" **codename aftertale.** "

"how's the glitch treatin' ya, partner?"

" **i gotta say, it makes life after death...a gl-li-li- _glitch_!** "

"still got my _sans_ of humor, i see."

" **so where are we?** "

"beacon. a school above ground. i'm attending, and now that we've made eye contact...or as close as we can get to it, we're partners in work at the school."

" **not what i was plannin' on doin' but it'll be refr3$#1*9 to get outta my timeline for a bit.** "

"so we should probably get our relic and get outta here. there're three black pawn pieces. let's grab one."

" **that's a gre-e-a-** _terrible_ **-great idea.** "

* * *

 **Emerald Forest, Frisk and Papyrus (Frisk POV)**

"IT SEEMS WE ARE NOT FAR FROM THE TEMPLE! LET US RECONVENE THERE! SPLITTING UP WILL PROVE SAFER, AS THE GRIMM WILL NOT KNOW WHO TO TARGET! GENIUS STRATEGIST ROYAL GUARD CAPTAIN PAPYRUS STRIKES AGAIN!"

"Okay, Papyrus. Be safe!" I shouted to him as he ran off.

As soon as he ran off, I regretted agreeing to his plan. I saw a pair of red eyes in the bushes.

A creature jumped out and growled at me.

"Oh no..." I said, trying to initiate a battle.

 ***[REDACTED] appears!**

 ***Smells like [FILE CORRUPTED]**

 ***[UNDEFINED] growls loudly!**

 ***FIGHT**

I tried to attack, but nothing happened.

I moved my soul about to make something happen.

The creature attacked me with its claws, going straight for me instead of my soul.

 _If I can't do anything to it like how I'm doing things now, nothing will work. Why isn't it working?_

I tried to sense its soul.

 _But nothing was there._

 _That's it!_ I thought, _I can't hurt it like this because it_ _ **has**_ _no soul to hurt! The only way to defeat this is with my own strength! Now I have to think...what would Undyne do?_

"NNNAAAAGGGH!" I shouted, charging into the beast's stomach, knocking it down.

Jumping onto it while it was on its back, I attacked with my fists, breaking the mask on its face and cracking its teeth. Once its eyes had gone dark and the glow left the red in its mask, I backed away.

 ***Battle won!**

 ***0 EXP 0 G**

 ***Soulless purged.**

 _Soulless purged? What have I done?_ I thought. I decided not to dwell on it too long and just try to make it to the temple without having to do that again.

At the temple, I met with Papyrus and Sans, who had with him another version of himself for his partner. I grabbed a black pawn chess piece while Papyrus and the Sanses were talking.

I didn't see Chara or Asriel, and that worried me.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest, Temple clearing edge, Chara and Asriel (Asriel POV)**

"So I've been wondering, Az," Chara said to me casually.

"What about?" I asked, failing to keep my voice from cracking out of fear.

"What's up with your God of Hyperdeath form? Like, where did it come from?"

"Oh, that? Heh...funny story about that one, it was actually one of the things I drew back in the underground when I was a kid...but you should know about that, wouldn't you?" I said, trying to regain my cool demeanor.

"I kinda...vaguely remember...Anyway, why the "God of Hyperdeath?" Isn't God of Death enough?"

"Well...you know little kids and their stupidly overpowered imaginary superheroes...That, and all those Mary Sue fanfictions on Undernet. Me and my stupid, 6 (or was it 7?) year old mind decided that I wanted whoever I fought to be _super_ dead. Like, deader than dead," I answered truthfully, sweating and turning red.

"Why do you ask?" I said inquisitively.

"No reason, actually. Just never really got around to asking before. Anyways, I think we're at the relics. Come on. I see Frisk, Papyrus and...Two Sanses?"

"Two? This is gonna be interesting, man! I talked with Sans on the airship for a while and he told me about this thing he does with his shortcuts, and how, eventually, it'll get to a point where he travels across all of space-time and summons up a different version of himself whenever he gets out of the shortcut! This must be one of them!"

I admit, I got excited. So excited, in fact, that I tumbled out of the overgrowth and into the clearing without a second thought.

"Howdy, guys!"

Everyone responded with "Hey, Asriel," or "HELLO ASGORE CLONE!" but one didn't answer.

He stood there and stared at me, his "pupils" now small, white dots in his sockets.

" **who's this?** " he said.

His skull was cracked on the side where his eye should be flaming, and around his neck was a torn and battered red scarf. His once blue parka had been worn out to a white.

"I-I-I-I-I uhhh...I'm Asriel Dreemurr," I struggled to say, for fear he'd blast me to bits.

" **so if you are-e-e-e...then you-u-u-u should know-ow-ow-ow... _exactly..._ how to greet a new-** _enemy_ **-pal. now shake. my. hand.** "

"R-right!" I said, remembering my first meeting with the normal Sans.

I stood up from my spot on the ground and wiped myself off. Then, I firmly grasped the hand of the strange Sans.

 ***BZZZZT**

"Ah!" I exclaimed, jerking back my hand.

" **heheheh...joy buzzer trick. works every ti-i-i-i-ime.** "

Even across universes, Sans will always be Sans. Good to know.

"so are ya ready to get outta here, gang? cause i'm ready to make like a skeleton and _leg_ it on back to beacon," our Sans said.

"Chara, you wanna grab a piece for us?" I said, more suggesting than asking.

"On it. How about the last black pawn?" he said in response.

* * *

 **Beacon Assembly Hall, Evening (Frisk POV)**

Later that night, we were standing together in the assembly hall to attend the assignment of teams.

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. You retrieved the White Knight pieces. Your team is...Team RWBY. Led by...Ruby Rose."

Team RWBY walked off of the stage. With a resounding silence, the hall turned their eyes to us.

"Never in the history of the academy has this ever happened, but in a strange turn of events, our last team of the night is a team of five people...not counting a second version of one member from an alternate universe. Papyrus Gaster, Asriel Dreemurr, Chara Dreemurr, Frisk Dreemurr, Sans Gaster. You retrieved the only relic with three pieces: The Black Pawn. Together, you are team PACFS, or team Pacifist," announced Professor Ozpin.

The crowd in the hall cheered loudly.

"Led by..."

The crowd waited in anticipatory silence.

"Asriel Dreemurr."

The crowd's monsters went berserk, wooping, whistling and cheering wildly, a roar of clapping erupting from all of the attendees.

"This truly is going to be a year of firsts, isn't it?" Ozpin asked himself as he looked up to the broken moon.

"What do you mean, Professor?" I asked him quietly.

"You'll know why when the Vytal Festival comes," he responded cryptically.

* * *

 **Elsewhere, Location undisclosed (Narrator)**

Inside a warehouse, there stood Roman Torchwick in all his criminally fabulous glory.

Behind him, a hooded figure stood, horns poking from out the hood, standing next to a cat faunus in white uniform and red emblem, holding a box full of something.

"Open it," Roman said.

The one with the horns broke open the box with a crowbar revealing a collection of pristine Dust crystals.

Roman took a Burn Dust crystal from the box, admiring its glow.

"We're gonna need more men...And some more monsters..." he trailed off, chuckling to himself in a sinister manner.


	6. Chapter 5 - The First Day

**A/N:** **I'm really happy about how this story is growing. It's gotten pretty popular and it's still going strong. I was originally going to just keep this a secret, but unless I can write my way through Volumes 1, 2 and 3 before 4 comes out, I was going to say that I'd be writing everything after volume 3 in headcannon. I thought of it kinda like the journey to Cairo in part 3 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, so that's what I was going to try and take inspiration from, and hopefully I can keep a good pace to write that before volume 4. If I can't, well...oops, deal with it :)**

* * *

The early morning sunrise hit my eyes and gently glowed, glazing the room in orange light.

 ***The beauty of the sunrise tugs at your heartstrings. You shed a single tear as you bask in the glow...It fills you with Determination.**

 ***You are also filled with the sudden urge to cover your ears. You do so and wait.**

 ***...**

 ***You hear a muffled "good morning, Frisk," directed at you.**

 **CRASH!**

A sound like a thunderclap shook my eardrums, though my hands muffled the noise.

"jeez, kiddo, what's your deal?" said Sans, holding onto his vibrating skull.

"I just thought we ought to get to work personalizing the room before classes. I got up before all of you and I got bored waiting," Asriel responded, saying it as if he had never done anything wrong.

"Hey, Asriel, can you do that just a _little_ softer? Y'know, so the whole frame of the building doesn't _quake like a nervous child!_ " barked Chara.

Across the hallway, I could hear Jaune shout a confused "What was that?"

Fortunately for Chara, Asriel wasn't paying attention. Instead, he'd picked up his suitcase and began to unpack. He didn't have much, but he brought along clothing changes, a few family photos and the like, and a small, plastic fish tank.

"So what's the tank for?" I asked.

"It's for a pet," he said quickly, going red.

"What is it?"

"A snail..."

"A snail? You know, I think I might have a good name for it. Can I see it?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

He took a small green snail out of his suitcase.

"It's the same one! Thundersnail! Where'd you get him?"

"I...a nice ghost gave him to me when he left the underground. The snail just kinda crept around for the years when I was Flowey. It entertained me to watch him race across the room. I used to time him to see how fast he got each day. It was pretty much the only fun part of those nine years, besides meeting the occasional talking rock or Vegetoid."

"I know that ghost. I'll have to thank him the next time I see him."

 ***Napstablook's gesture of friendly kindness moves you emotionally. You are filled with Determination. ACT actions increase effectiveness on enemy entity Napstablook during FIGHTs.**

I walked away to attend to other matters.

"So Sans, how're you doing?"

"if i'm bein' honest, kid, i'm holdin' up. you?" he said in return.

"I'm good. How's Papyrus?"

"if anything, probably rarin' to go. he's just gettin' a late start," Sans said, gesturing to Papyrus.

He "breathed" in rhythm, each exhale ending in a faint "NYEHEHEHEHEH..."

"So what happened to that other Sans?" I asked.

"probably went back to his own timeline. i'm gonna see if i can open another shortcut and find a new me."

"Don't you want to unpack your luggage?"

"kid, the only 'luggage' i have is in these pockets and back in snowdin. i was plannin' on goin' back to get my stuff usin' a shortcut. wanna come with?"

"Why not? We have time to spare before class."

* * *

Sans opened one of his shortcuts, basically a hole in space-time, and we stepped through and came out in Snowdin, the morning snowfall gleaming under the light streaming in from the surface. Sans took me by the wrist and led me back to his old house.

"So is your luggage in your room, or are you hiding some things?" I asked.

"kid, you'd be surprised at just how many secrets i have...and i'm not just talkin' about my powers in genocide timelines. the multiverse is a big place. and it has a lot of secrets. you can think of the shortcuts as gates, and i'm the gatekeeper. **And I take my job as gatekeeper very seriously.** so i decided i'd show you one of my secrets. **It's time you learned part of the truth.** "

He walked behind his house and opened a door, leading me inside and gesturing to the laboratory inside.

"So this is what you've been hiding?" I remarked in disbelief.

"i've been workin' in here for as long as you've been in that coma. i just used to get back to the hospital room before ol' Oz walked in to check on us."

"So _you_ faked a coma. I'm impressed, Sans," I said as I rummaged around through the cabinets in the lab.

"it's a lot easier if you aren't human. you tend not to have lungs and not need to breathe. i think it's cool."

"So you wanna tell me what this stuff is?" I asked, holding up his photo album and his badge.

"the photos are for another time. the badge is a Franklin Badge. saved my life more times than i can count. protects against all general damage and nullifies all electric or lightning damage."

I walked over to the curtain that hung over the old broken machine, only to find it had been repaired.

"Care to explain this?"

"i'm guessing you're saying i don't have a choice?"

"Yup."

" **well, kid. i don't think you'll believe me, but i used to be human.** **"**

"What?"

"don'tcha remember from all those timelines? ' **i gave up trying to go back a long time ago...and gettin' to the surface? that doesn't really appeal to me anymore either.** ' i was tryin' to tell you something. keyword is 'either.' i wanna go back to when i was human. i had some good friends, good food, some bad jokes and some great laughs. but now i've kinda repurposed the machine for a second quest i'm on. i once had a monster i called "dad." he was the royal scientist before alphys, and he made loads of advancements in monster tech. he let me help him in his experiments, too, and i can't let the work he did for the better part of his life go to waste. **W. D. Gaster, the man who speaks in hands. W. D. Gaster, the mystery man.** **now I'm close. I can get him back. using this machine to regroup all of his fragmented being from all of time-space, I can recombine his being and bring him back to us.** thing is, kid, i ain't no scientist. i couldn't figure it out if i tried. i need alphys' help."

"Well why don't you just ask her?"

"i can't just ask her outta the blue to help me figure out a weird machine i've only just figured out how to repair."

"Good point. So why show me this?"

" **because i feel like you know more than you let on.** "

 ***FUN VALUE SET TO EQUAL 66.**

" **good. that wasn't too hard, was it?** "

"Sans? Why do I get the feeling we're being watched?"

" **shhhh...it's rude to talk about people who are listening.** "

"Can we go back to Beacon now, Sans? You're freaking me out..."

"heh. why didn'tcha say so? c'mon. i know a shortcut."

* * *

We sat there in the mess hall, surrounded by other teams, waiting for Sans and Frisk, wherever they were. Chara had almost wolfed down his entire plate of food, wanting to go for seconds, and Papyrus was halfway through a mound of spaghetti, and meanwhile I was sitting there, barely touching my food. Papyrus noticed my behavior and decided to take action.

"ASGORE CLONE! I DEMAND YOU TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG THIS INSTANT, OR ELSE I WILL BE FORCED TO SPAGHETTI YOU INTO SUBMISSION!"

"Heh. Sorry about that, Papyrus. Nothing's wrong, but I feel like I'm just not ready to be a leader."

"NONSENSE! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN OFFICIALLY BEGUN YOUR LEADING DUTIES! THERE IS NO REASON TO DOUBT YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS!"

"Thanks, Pap, but what am I supposed to do? I haven't even spoken to anyone other than Professor Ozpin and you, Chara, Sans, and Frisk. I trip over words when flustered, I'm so thickheaded about my goals that my own determination gets in my way, and I end up failing when I want to succeed."

"ASRIEL, I MAY PUT ON A FARCE OF IDIOCY FOR THE SAKE OF MY BROTHER, SANS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE A WONDERFUL LEADER. I BELIEVE IN YOU."

 ***Hearing Papyrus' inspiring words makes you a little more self-confident. You are filled with Determination.**

"Thanks, Papyrus."

"IT'S WHAT I'M HERE FOR."

"Hey guys. Looky who's back," Chara said, stopping only to tell us before going back to inhaling his food.

I looked to the entrance, and Frisk and Sans were walking into the lunchroom carrying a bag from Grillby's, Sans' favorite dive.

"heya, guys. how're ya?" asked Sans cheerily.

"I'm all right," I said.

"NEVER BETTER!" said Papyrus.

"Mmm," grunted Chara, still stuffing himself.

"Well, we just picked up our breakfast, so what's been going on since we were gone?" Frisk asked.

"Well...we finished decorating and unpacking, we set up the beds in a better position, and Thundersnail has circumnavigated his tank three times," I said, looking into Thundersnail's container. "Make that four times."

"So are we ready to get going to class? We've got Grimm Studies first!" Frisk said, excitement plainly expressed in her voice.

* * *

"GRIMM. The Creatures of the night. The Demons of the dark. Whatever you call them is fine, but all the same, in this class you will learn about the different varieties. Either way, I prefer to call them...Prey! HAH HAH!" monologued our portly professor, Peter Port. **(Unintended pun...** _ **port**_ **ly...meaning fat.)**

"Now I expect all of you, be you a human, faunus, or monster, to pay attention. A creature of Grimm will not show you mercy, no matter how low your Aura levels get. They lack souls, and are filled instead by a consuming darkness. In the end, if all goes well, good always triumphs over evil. Which is why I would like to share a story of a young hero...a young, _handsome_ hero...ME!" he continued, launching into a story about his youth.

"Az, is he serious?" I whispered.

"I don't know, Frisk. I think he is," he responded.

"BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH...AND THOUGH MY OLD MAN SMELLED OF CABBAGES, HIS ADVICE WAS WISE...BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH..."

"He's literally just saying the word Blah over and over again with small sentences in between. How are we supposed to learn anything from this?" I asked.

"Shhh...I'm gonna try and see if his story has a point."

"AND SO THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS! A True Huntsman must be Courageous! A True Huntsman must be Wise! And most of all, a True Huntsman must stay Determined! So which one of you young scholars thinks you have it in you?" Port finished, pointing his blunderbuss battleax into the crowd.

Asriel rose from his seat, and a few rows down, Weiss, who had become Ruby's partner on her team, stood with him.

"AHA! It would seem that these two both believe that they are what it means to be a hunter. Let's test their abilities, shall we? Both of you will fight until your Aura has dropped into the red. You can monitor the condition of your Aura on the Scrolls the school has equipped you with."

"Uh...Excuse me, sir, but what are we fighting?" Asriel asked, his voice wavering.

"Why, young man, you're fighting each other!"

He started sweating and he let out a small bleat.

* * *

The stage was set. Asriel Dreemurr versus Weiss Schnee. A God incarnate versus a pampered princess.

"3," said Port.

"2," he counted.

"1."

"GO!" he shouted.

They exchanged blows rapidly, fire against fire, ice against ice, lightning against lightning.

Weiss had barely gotten started with her preparations for an attack when Asriel was upon her again, raining down star-storms and lightning bolts. She reached into a small satchel on her belt and pulled out a Burn Dust crystal and threw it at him. It hit Asriel square in the nose. He opened his mouth to react to the pain, and the crystal fell into his open mouth and down his throat.

He stood there for a few seconds...I'll admit, I got worried. His eyes opened, now the exact shade of red as the crystal he had swallowed.

"So... **Dust**...It enhances the **soul** , right? Well, _Ice Queen_...Monsters are made up mostly of magic. I know that you can tell where this fight's gonna go from here. Check your Scroll," Asriel said, his voice empowered, crackling with an angry flame.

Weiss checked her Scroll and noticed what we had all been in awe of moments before. Asriel's Aura had completely recharged.

"So are you ready to admit defeat? Or are you just that stubborn and pig-headed that you need to win that badly?"

"I...I'll never back down from a fight!" She shouted back in response, shaking in her boots.

"You've got guts, I'll give you that. Take a lesson in humility and figure out how to know when you've lost before you end up looking like a fool. I've learned it _way too many times over_."

Asriel shot a ball of fire at Weiss that was too big to avoid. If it didn't end up killing her, it could just as well have landed her two full weeks in the infirmary for burn injuries.

But then Professor Port intervened, and shot the ball of flame, dispersing it and stopping the fight.

"BRAVO! BRAVO TO BOTH OF YOU! WELL DONE, ASRIEL! Ms. Schnee, I may need to speak with you after class. It's about the...issue...you came to me with this morning."

* * *

After classes, we all went back to the dormitory building and congratulated Asriel. The teams of PACSF, RWBY, and JNPR had come together to put together a small-scale party.

Everyone was having fun and laughing with each other, but in the corner of the room, I saw Weiss, slouching indignantly in a chair at her desk.

"Weiss?" I addressed her as I walked cautiously over.

"Frisk," she said, venom lacing her voice.

"I'm sorry about what happened today in Grimm Studies, I really am. Asriel was just trying to get you to be happier with your teammates."

"I am not going to be happy as long as that inexperienced mush-for-brains is leader."

"So you aren't commanding a team, big whoop. What's important is that the team isn't being hurt by your stubborn attitude."

"Stubborn? How dare you-"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Weiss. You act like no-one has ever said anything bad about you in your whole life. Some people won't like you, and you have to understand that. Asriel is not one of the people who don't like you. In fact, he likes you a whole lot. He just likes to help people with the weaknesses they have. You're insecure about your skills when you aren't praised for them. He knows for a fact that you _are_ talented. That whole lesson was to teach you that you'll have instances in your life where things don't always go your way. Instead of sulking, yelling and stomping your feet like a toddler until you get what you want, be civilized and be the better person in the situation by being a gracious loser and congratulating him. It's how a proper hunter and a proper lady would do it."

"I get where you're coming from, Frisk, but I can't just spin on a dime and change who I am. I'll admit, I'm not one of the most...open-minded people, but I want your brother to know that I'm happy for him and his win against me, but I grew up at home knowing that Monsters and Faunus were all just liars and cheats who were good-for-nothings and disease carriers. I don't renounce my ways, but I suppose...I _can_ make an exception...for the time being. If he shows me that he's exactly what I thought he was, then I will do all I can to toy with and break down his mind and body while carrying out my studies."

"Weiss, I really don't think you should be saying that with Chara in the room. He may mistake it for you threatening him. You know all too well what happened last time."

As I said that, her face reddened and her expression darkened, saying, "Right. I'll go have a chat with Asriel now. Sorry."

 ***Knowing you helped Asriel achieve his goal of changing someone for the better, a warm feeling is left in your heart. You are filled with Determination.**


	7. Chapter 6 - The Knight's Folly

**A/N:** **so...yeah...I tried something new to show scene switch and character POV switch last chapter. I hope you like it. I'm gonna try to keep doing that. I'll do some stuff this chapter...I think. Enjoy.**

A SMALL NOTE – Dialogue for all characters brought about by Sans' wormholes will be **bolded**.

* * *

"SANS, WHO IS THIS DEVILISHLY HANDSOME OTHER SKELETON? AND WHY IS THERE ANOTHER SANS?"I heard Papyrus yell, waking me up.

" **DEVILISHLY HANDSOME? WHAT WORLD ARE** _ **YOU**_ **LIVING IN?** _ **I**_ **AM THE DEVILISHLY HADSOME ONE!** " said someone who sounded an awful lot like Sans.

"relax, bro, i just accidentally brought a few alternate versions of us from another timeline through a shortcut," I heard a much more laid back Sans say.

" **yeah, really. no need to work yourself into a femur over it** _,_ _"_ I heard another Papyrus say.

"WHY AM I MAKING PUNS?"

"seriously, bro, it's fine. they're from another timeline. the underswap timeline. you and me, along with a load of other monsters get their roles and personalities reversed or replaced with another monster's role or personality. if you ask me, i'd say this other you is a bit of an improvement...nothing against you, of course...but then again, i might be telling a bit of a... _fib_ ula."

"SANS!"

" **ME**!"

I decided to get up and try to stop them.

"guys, look! frisk's up!"

"HUMAN!"

" **HUMAN!** "

 _Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my head as I thought back to the other timelines._

* * *

 _Near the end of my time in resetting the timeline and going through the story again, the timeline had begun to corrupt, causing massive disruptions and changes to the people and places in the timeline._

 _Sans was now a human hunting fanatic, and Papyrus had become the funny, laid back and "lazy" one._

 _Napstablook the ghost was now a TV star in the underground going by the name of Napstaton, and Mettaton, Napstablook's cousin, had become a ghost by the name of Hapstablook._

 _Toriel had taken charge and became the queen of monsters, while Asgore stayed in the Ruins and tended to humans who had fallen down into the underground._

 ***Remembering the strange circumstances, but continuing on to befriend even these strange versions of the people you once knew so well fills you with Determination.**

* * *

" **yo, kid. you alright?** " asked...Papyrus.

"Yup. I was just...daydreaming! Yeah, dayreaming...Say, you guys seem pretty different from the other Sans that came through a couple days ago. Why're there two of you?" I asked.

" **i'm glad you asked...whatsyourname...y'see, i'm here because i have your sans' personality. my brother is here simply because he's one of the versions of sans. papyrus. nice to meet ya.** "

"I'm Frisk."

" **well then it's nice to meet ya, frisk. so you wanna be pals? if you do, well...you know what to do.** "

He held out his hand and made a fist.

 ***There has to be a sort of gag here if he inherited Sans' personality. The mystery of what it could be fills you with determination.**

I bumped my fist to his knuckles. They made that gross clicking sound that is specific only to when you knock your knuckles together.

"AUGH, GROSS!" I shouted.

" **sup?** " he said.

"I hate that noise."

" **awesome. works every time.** "

"well, since it looks like you guys are having so much fun, i guess i'll just go to grillby's by myself...my one and only lonesome...o solo mio..." said Sans as he slowly walked out of the room.

"You can't be serious, Sans. We'd never leave you to...just the... _bare bones_ , you know that, right?" I told him.

"well, i was just thinking about my little quest, and _ulna_ longer be trying to go back. chances are, the people i'm lookin' for are already out there. so for now, i'll be dealing with problems within my immediate... _radius_ , starting with where to go to lunch."

"Have you found a place yet?"

"nah. i might find one by...to _marrow_."

"Why don't we try the cafeteria? They serve some pretty good stuff there."

"they had better have ketchup."

" **ONWARD, TO BREAKFAST, MEN, WE RIDE!** " said the other version of Sans.

* * *

"Jaune, you haven't touched your food. What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the blond knight picking awkwardly at his food as we sat with our friends.

"I-It's nothing, Frisk. I'm fine! I'm just...not...hungry!" he said, sounding obviously forced.

"Jaune..." I groaned.

"Really! I'm fine!"

"It's Cardin, isn't it?" I asked, seeing through him easily.

"...Yeah."

"It's scumbags like him that I can't stand."

"Whoa, Frisk. Never thought I'd hear you say something like that," he said, taken aback.

"He's a bully."

"Heh. Yeah, really. Name _one_ time he's "bullied" me."

"Well there was that one time when he shoved you and your books flew out of your hands and he walked away laughing."

"Yeah but that was just the one –"

"And then there was that one time when he pushed the button that activates your shield so it would block the door to the classroom you were supposed to go to."

"Okay, I get where you're coming from on that, that was a bit of a jerk move, but –"

"And then there was that other time where he pushed you into one of the school's rocket propelled lockers and punched in a random code, and then you shot out of the school and no-one but me, my team, your team and team RWBY noticed."

"Alright, yeah, he bullies me, but you have no proof that it's not just me, so –"

"And he also pulled Asriel by the ears and made fun of his bleats, and continues to do so on a weekly basis, now turning more frequent than that."

"Okay that's just uncalled for, but really, there's no way it's only our group, right?"

"You're right. One of his frequent targets, other than you and Asriel, is a faunus girl who I've had the pleasure of meeting, named Velvet Scarlatina. She's nice."

"So he picks on everyone, no matter if they're human, monster or faunus?"

"No. The faunus are more frequent, but he generally goes for monsters as often as he can. He's disgusting. I'd gladly break an oath of pacifism to beat him to a pulp."

"That's going a bit far, isn't it Frisk?" he asked.

If he knew how serious I was about that, I don't think he would still be sitting at that table.

"WE'LL BREAK HIS LEGS!" shouted Nora, a friend of Jaune and one of his teammates.

"For once, Nora, go right ahead," said Pyrrha, another one of Jaune's teammates. One who I could see was clearly smitten by him.

"Just don't break his arms, too, Nora," advised Ren, Jaune's trusted friend and teammate, who he has come to for advice on several occasions. How do I know? He keeps accidentally sending Ren questions in a group chat with the three of us.

"Guys, really, it's fine. I can deal with him. Let me handle it," Jaune said, defeat clear in his voice.

"if you insist, kiddo. just say the word, because if you want me to..." Sans began, " _I can give Cardin here...a Bad Time._ "

 ***Chills run down everyone's back as Sans utters the line he so dearly loves. The infamous line reminds you of the deadly nature of Sans' secret powers. The sight of Sans' empty eye sockets chills you to the** _ **bone**_ **...but you are nevertheless filled with Determination.**

* * *

Later in the night, I was sitting in the library, nearly asleep over a book. Not too long after I had put away the book for fear of getting scolded by the librarian in the morning, Jaune had walked in with Pyrrha.

"I wanted to talk to you privately. It was about today in History," I heard Pyrrha say.

"I know. Binoculars. Very funny," Jaune spat back.

"What? No, not at all, I've actually decided that I wanted to help you. Follow me!" Pyrrha said, grabbing Jaune by the wrist and leading him out.

I decided to follow. She took him through the halls and upstairs until they hit the roof and walked out. I stood behind the door, opening it a crack to see what was happening.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through some hard times right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed."

"What? No!" she said, moving him from the ledge, "I thought we could train up here. I could help you."

"Oh...Pyrrha, you know I'm doing fine," he said, blushing slightly.

"I know. I just thought after that match with Cardin today during that demonstration with Professor Goodwitch that you could use a little... _push_ to get going."

"I really don't think that I need a push."

"Please just let me help."

" _This_ is exactly what I _didn't_ want when I came here. I wanted to be the _hero_. I wanted to be like my ancestors. Heroes of great battles that gained fame and fortune from not only their valor and selflessness, but simply by holding the name _Arc_. I don't want to be the damsel in distress, I wanna be the _hero!_ Don't you see that?"

"Jaune, I understand, but even heroes –"

"I don't belong here."

"That's not true and you know it! You made it to _Beacon_! That speaks _volumes_ of what you're capable of!"

" _I_ didn't make it to Beacon. My transcripts did."

"I...don't know what you mean."

Jaune sighed.

"I got some hands on some fake transcripts and I _slipped_ into Beacon by a complete freak accident," he said, shame coating his voice.

"Jaune, I –"

"NO!"

"Jaune?"

"Just...leave me alone."

Pyrrha rushed down the steps, not even noticing me. I started to make my way morosely down the steps when I heard another voice.

"Hey, Jauney boy."

Cardin.

"I couldn't help but overhear that little convo you just had with little miss 'I'm so perfect.' So you snuck into Beacon. Gotta hand it to ya, buddy. Never thought you were the rebellious type," he said, a cool venom burned into his tone.

"C-Cardin? Please don't tell anyone what you heard! Please?"

"Why would I, Jaune, old buddy, old pal? We're _friends_ now."

"Friends?" Jaune choked out through a hold Cardin had around his neck.

"Yup. Best buds. So, I don't really have time to do the extra readings that Oobleck assigned us, so...could you take care of that for me... _buddy?_ Thanks. Oh, and I'll have some other things for you after you're done, so take a trip down to the library and contact me after you're done, m'kay?" Cardin said, throwing Jaune to the floor.

He scrambled to the library as I ran down to go back.

He got there before me, so I played cool and walked in like I was searching for him.

"Jaune?" I whispered, opening the doors to the library.

"Frisk? What are you doing out here at this hour?" he asked.

"I could say the same to you."

He visibly tensed.

"Writing up this essay Oobleck assigned me for extra readings. I screwed up bigtime."

"So I heard."

"What? How?"

"I saw you two enter the library and decided to follow you guys. I stayed at the roof stairwell door to listen and watch."

 ***Telling Jaune the truth leaves you with a bad feeling in your stomach. ACT actions decrease effectiveness for enemy entity Jaune Arc.**

"So you saw what Cardin said. In that case, I think now would be a good time to break that oath of pacifism."

"I've decided to take action into my own hands. I want to get you out of this whole "Cardin" fiasco."

"We can start by doing his reading. I'll do mine and you can type his?"

"Agreed. If we can though, let's take every opportunity we can to screw him over enough that he'll think twice about messing with you and your friends."

"God of Hyperdeath?"

"Too extreme."

"Chara?"

"Doesn't care enough."

"Leg breaking?"

"Nora would do it."

"Bad Times?"

"Sans is Sans. You never know what he'll do."

"Puzzles with Papyrus?"

"Might accidentally overload his pea-brain and kill him."

"There's only one scenario I think will work, but I don't know how to get it to work."

"What is it, Jaune?"

"I have to somehow save him from Grimm."

"Well, we have that trip to the Forever Fall forest to get tree sap for Professor Peach."

"Are the Grimm..."

"Attracted to the sap? Yep. The Grimm in that area have a raging sweet tooth...at least from what I hear."

"So I just have to somehow hit him with a sap jar, have a Grimm miraculously not kill him, and I have to kill the Grimm."

"Pretty much."

"Sounds easy enough," he said, sarcasm practically dripping from his mouth.

The rest of the night was thrown away due to the readings, which by morning were completed. We slumped our way to breakfast and sat down, ready to face the plan we had hatched last night.

"You know, Jaune. You're a pretty good tactician."

"You think so? Thanks. I was always pretty good at Real Time Strategy video games."


	8. Chapter 7 - The Save

**A/N:** **Okay, so in last chapter, the Skelebros from the Underswap AU came through the wormhole. I'm planning on keeping them around because Underswap is awesome, and USwap Sans is adorable. (plus, Comic Papyrus) I will also add in a few more characters from the AU's I've searched and researched, but they'll be there for comedy and stuff for purely screwing around. Like...Goopy Soul Frisk, or some characters from Outertale or Underfell. I gotta say, Underfell God of Hyperdeath Asriel art looks awesome. Go search it up. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. Last little thing, there's a fan game out there being worked on called Overtale, which takes place 15 years after the True Pacifist ending of Undertale, with the main protagonist, Asriel journeying across the surface to do...something...I haven't seen anything about the story other than that, and speculations about lines given for actors on the website CastingCallClub. Can't use URLs so just go search it. I guarantee you'll find it. I think there's still 5 other roles left...I'm not sure.**

* * *

 ***You wake in the library, groggily looking around. Your eyes fall on Jaune, who you've agreed to help. How, you still have to figure out. The thought of how you'll pull it off makes you shake nervously. Despite that, you are filled with Determination.**

"Hey, Frisk. Wake up. We gotta get to breakfast. We'll be late to get food," Jaune said, patting me on the back as way of thanks for my help.

"Okay, I guess we _should_ get going. You can get Cardin the essays. I'll be up ahead."

"Right. See you then," he said.

 _Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt._

"Huh? Oh! That's my scroll!" Jaune said, searching around for the scroll.

"It looks like a voice message from Cardin," I pointed out.

"Oh, great...look, you go on to lunch and I'll see what he wants."

I walked away, wishing him luck and hearing the beginnings of a strange task.

"I'm gonna need ya to nab a nest of angry Rapier Wasps. It's _very_ important for them to have long stingers," said the voice mail.

I heard Jaune groaning as I walked away.

 ***You feel sorry for your friend and that it's too late to walk back and help him. Knowing he has a minor allergic reaction to those specific kind of wasp worries you, but you carry on. If your time in the underground has taught you anything, it's that the world won't wait for you to get to it. Your movement speed is decreased in areas adjacent to Beacon academy for the time being.**

* * *

The air was full of the wondrous smells of the forest. Not that I could smell anything. The leaves falling, the sap dripping, the birds chirping. On beautiful days like this one, it seemed to be the perfect time for something terrible to happen. Call it a hunch, but this skeleton's _spine was tingling_ just thinking about what might happen...and that hunch involved Frisk and her new friend, Jaune.

"so, paps, whaddya think is goin' on with frisk and her friend?" I said.

" **i dunno, sans, but whatever's goin' on, i don't like how it feels. you feel it too?** " Papyrus' double responded.

"yeah. i feel it. feels like something or some _one_ is gonna die."

As we walked, the leaves continued falling around us, and the teacher lectured us about staying safe. Now, I wasn't worried about myself, I knew I could take care, but Frisk might have been in some danger if she was with that Jaune kid. His whole goof-off know-nothing shtick was bad business, and I knew he was in something bad...real bad...and he was in it real deep.

I kept walking, trying not to think about it, as my double started shouting about adventure and tree sap. What a big _sap,_ am I right?

Then we heard a roar as we wandered into the forest.

Soon enough, the other members of Cardin Winchester's team came running.

"URSA! URSA! THAT'S A BIG URSA!"

" **where?** " said Papyrus' double, grabbing the kid by the collar as his left eye-socket flashed orange.

"WITH CARDIN AND THAT LOSER, ARC. THAT GIRL IS WITH HIM. THE ONE YOU GUYS HANG OUT WITH."

Lo and behold, what happens, but something bad? My hunch was right after all.

We ran to the clearing and found Frisk on the side, tending to Jaune, who was bleeding heavily, and Cardin, trying desperately and failing to fight off an Ursa with a stump of his broken weapon.

"so, paps, you ready to restart the day? 'cause i got the strangest feeling i know what frisk is gonna do next."

" **prep for "save file" loading?** "

"yep."

* * *

I woke with a start, sweating all over, sitting at a desk with a mug of coffee next to my hand.

"Drink up, Frisk, you're gonna need it if we're gonna make it through today. We've got a big plan ahead of us for the trip," I heard Jaune say.

No, that couldn't be right. I'm not here, I'm in the forever fall forest with Jaune and Cardin, fighting to keep Jaune alive. Jaune should be dead by now.

"Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"I've been here before."

"Well, yeah. You were here with me last night doing those essays for Cardin."

"No, I mean I've been right here in this exact situation with you at the same time of day on this exact day."

"What? You're crazy. That's not possible!"

"Not by normal means. Your partner, Pyrrha, she told you about semblances, right?"

"Semblances?"

"Apparently, it's like the magic of a monster. It has one function...at least, one basic function, and the act of using it uses your aura...your force field...and it will do some sort of special power."

"Oh. She hasn't told me about that. Why?"

"Well, I have a semblance, and its basic use is to use feelings of "Determination," or points when my soul feels the strongest, to mark as points in time I can jump back to, should I ever feel the need to reset something that shouldn't have happened."

"So you're like a person who fixes time?"

"No. I manipulate it so that no-one gets hurt. My brother shares the same ability, but if he uses it...well, I'll just say it won't be very pretty."

 ***The thought of Chara rampaging through Beacon for an unexplained reason and murdering the students chills you to the bone. You are Determined not to let that happen.**

"The important thing is, Jaune, that when I loaded that point that I had marked, we were in the forever fall forest only hours from now, and you were about to die. I can't let that happen."

"How do we prevent that, though?"

"Well, we could take precautionary measures. Do you know anyone with control over magnetism?"

"Uhhh..."

"Right, I forgot. I'll go look around for someone at lunch. You take care of delivering the essays. Oh, and Cardin's going to call in a couple seconds telling you to get a box full of Rapier Wasps with extra-long stingers."

"What? Why?"

"Maybe that has something to do with how you almost died? Think about it, Jaune. Time travel does some weird stuff. Just say you didn't have time to go and grab the wasps and go get sap from the trees with them. They'll probably react the same way as they did when you didn't want to hurt Pyrrha. For now, enjoy the family you have in your teammates. I'll see you later...If things happen to fall apart again. And just as a last resort, if things somehow escalate, but you're not injured, tell Cardin to get his team to get Pyrrha."

* * *

"Aw, crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!"

"Cardin! Get behind me!"

"Holy crap, Jaune?"

"Yes, Cardin, now run! I'll handle this thing!"

"O-Okay! You want me to get anyone?"

"Get Pyrrha! She can...I don't know, she'll do something! Just GO GET HER!"

"YOU HEARD THE MAN, GUYS! GO GET NIKOS!"

"RIGHT, BOSS, WE'RE OUTTA HERE!" said Dove.

"GOOD!"

"Cardin, things aren't looking so good. I'm gonna hold out until Pyrrha gets here. When she does, I'm gonna see what she can do to help," said Jaune.

"Sounds good. So what can I do?"

"You just sit there and watch me kill this thing."

And with that, he ran to the giant bear, sword and shield at the ready.

His shield raised, and his sword slashed. Just as planned, Pyrrha, who was already by the scene, in the bushes nearby, activated her semblance and manipulated Jaune's shield to repel the blow of the Ursa, and Jaune jumped up and lopped off the head of the bear, his sword covered in a black tar as he withdrew it from the beast.

He dropped his weapons and helped up Cardin.

"Jaune?"

"Don't you _ever_... _mess with my friends...my family,_ again. You hear me?"

Cardin just gave him a cold, fearful stare in response.

"Your silence speaks volumes. Let's get outta here," Jaune said smoothly, motioning for Cardin to follow him.

Cardin just stood there, shocked. He watched the disintegrating body of the Ursa and stood there in awe of what Jaune had just accomplished.

"You know, Jaune, I think we handled that pretty well for only our second try," I said.

"For a second try, it was a heckuva leap. From dying in a pool of my own blood to being revered by my friends for defending an egotistical meatsack from a giant bear thing with spikes on its back, I'd say that went pretty well, all things considered."

"Couldn't've said it better myself, Jaune. Now come on. I heard from Pyrrha that Ren agreed to make pancakes in celebration. Also, I think you owe someone an apology...You know...red hair, green eyes, obviously, horrifyingly, obsessively infatuated with you, wields a spear..."

"Is it...Ruby?"

"You really are _that_ dense."

"Who is it?"

"It's Pyrrha! WHAT PART OF "WIELDS A SPEAR" DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?"

"Oh! Right! I have an idea."

"Usually these ideas are good ones, so you go do that."

And so, Smooth Operator Jaune Arc successfully saved himself with my help, and has now possibly made his life just a tad bit easier.

* * *

"Remember, class, the dance is this coming Saturday! Don't be left alone!" said Professor Goodwitch.

Across the room, I can hear Jaune groan.

* * *

 **A/N:** **So yeah, that happened...NOW THE SHIPPENING BEGINS! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH! (I'm not sorry)**

 **Note: Sap, when referring to a person, means someone who is not smart or wise. A synonym can be "a sucker."**

 **Note 2: the alt. universe Sans and Papyrus in use right now are from the Underswap universe, and I'll try to use different names for them to differentiate between Sans and Underswap Sans and Papyrus and Underswap Papyrus. For USSans, I'll use Blueberry, because that's the name I see him referred to as the most when he's in conversation. For USPapyrus, I'll just call him Paps, and Normal Papyrus will just be Papyrus. It's easier that way.**


	9. Chapter 8 - The Bow

**A/N:** **Okay, so let me explain. When it says Semester, I think of a grading quarter in a school. I don't think a year. When you say School year, School semester is not interchangeable with it. So really it's like...pretty much...half? of their first year may have gone by at the end of Volume 1, and then Volume two, you know how some schools have the first grading...thing...before December Break so children can feel miserable about their grades all throughout their "wonderful" time receiving presents and eating big dinners and having fun with their family? Well, some also have a thing where they put a grading thing before the winter and spring break so children never catch a break, and they're always depressed about their grades while on vacation. Basically, I see volume two as January to March. Volume three, I say is April to May, and maybe Volume 4 would be June...I'm not too sure about 4. Keep in mind, I'm in America, and I know that schools overseas handle holidays differently than we do, but I'm just saying that's how I imagine it. Moving on to the real story, Things pick up from here: Cardin was just shown that Jaune is a secret Badass, and now is pretty much pisspants scared of him. Now comes character development from Blake and Weiss...(ooooh, I wonder what's going to happen...) and some..."minor" things.**

* * *

 ***Early morning light breaks through your window and gets in your eyes. You wake early. You are grumpy without enough sleep. Your morning could have gone better, but you make the most out of it by getting an early breakfast. The food heals you to full HP and prepares you. It's gonna be one of** _ **those**_ **days.**

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sans walk in with the alternate Papyrus he calls "Paps." From what I could see, they were uncharacteristically wide awake, talking animatedly about a subject I couldn't make out.

" **hey kid. how've you been? i see you're up early. what's eatin' ya?** " asked Paps.

"Well, I don't know. I just got up early because the sun got in my eyes. Although, I'm kinda wondering what Sans meant when he showed me his lab. He said a lot of things I didn't understand," I answered.

"well, frisk, i can't tell you exactly what i meant, because that would require explanations, and that requires work. i don't like work. i can tell you that someone you may or may not have encountered on one of your many resets is back. i know you've got control over way more than just resets, saves and loading. you've got control over files...the world's files. i'll let you figure out how to use it and what it means, but if you screw with them enough...well, just try to learn sign language," said Sans.

All he did was confuse me more. Sans is a walking riddle. An infinite loop of quantam physics books inside of joke books. A lie within a lie that turns out to be truth, and to put the cherry on top of this strange sundae of insanity, he's nihilistic. Not in the depressing sense, but just in the way that he just doesn't care enough to be depressed about life not mattering. _And now he's telling me to learn sign language?_ Was the only thing going through my mind, until the other team members walked in with Sans' double, who we affectionately nicknamed Blueberry after the shade of blue he turns when flustered.

" **ONWARD! WE MUST HURRY! WE MUST EAT OUR SHARE AND PREPARE FOR ANOTHER DAY FULL OF STRANGE HAPPENSTANCE!** " Blueberry shouted, signaling Asriel, Chara and Papyrus to follow him, Papyrus being the most enthusiastic of the group.

"QUITE, BLUEBERRY! THE DAY WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT IT WHEN WE'RE READY FOR IT!" Papyrus yelled.

"Guys, really, it's like...seven in the morning. Don't you have a quieter voice you can use? Like an "inside voice?" Asriel asked politely.

"THIS IS MY INSIDE VOICE!"

" **I AGREE WITH PAPYRUS! I AM USING THE QUIETEST VOICE I CAN!** "

As this unfolded, my eyes turned to Chara, who was holding his head, wincing each time the two skeletons spoke.

"Papyrus, Blueberry, I understand you two are excited about Saturday, but really, can you please consider the other people around you? Chara clearly has a headache, and I'm not sure that yelling is going to help," I said, hoping reason would get them to soften their tone.

" **BAH! NONSENSE! HE NEEDS PASTA! SOMEONE! GET THIS MAN SOME RAVIOLI!** "

"NO! GET SOME SPAGHETTI!"

" **RAVIOLI!** "

"SPAGHETTI!"

You get the idea. That went on for the good portion of almost a half an hour, until teams RWBY and JNPR walked in. JNPR was walking a considerable distance away from team RWBY, which piqued my curiosity.

"Jaune? What's going on with team RWBY that's making you guys avoid them?"

"Weiss and Blake are arguing. They just won't stop. Something about the White Fang. I tell you, it's hopeless to try to make them stop. They'll just turn the argument on you, and then if you pick a side, it'll just make them more irritable. Believe me, and I say it because I took Blake's side."

"I'll have a look. I'll see if I can't stop them."

"Thanks, Frisk. This'll be the second time you've saved my life this week. If only you could secretly change my grades to good ones. Then you'll save me a third time."

"Sorry. No-can-do. But I'll see what I can do about this argument problem."

* * *

 ***Crabby Heiress and Quiet Bookworm are wording up a storm!**

 ***ACT**

 ***Intrude**

"Weiss? What's going on?"

"She's defending some stowaway faunus rabble-rouser that we saw at the docks just a while ago."

"STOP CALLING HIM NAMES!" Blake interjected.

"He's a faunus with no regard for the law. Give him time. He'll join them within the hour."

 ***Seems talking won't do you any good.**

 ***ACT**

 ***Listen**

"Well, can I hear what each of you has to say about what happened?" I asked.

"Well, I simply thought that, since we will be hosting the Vytal Festival and the tournament this year, that it was our duty as students of the most prestigious academy on Remnant to welcome the visitors with open arms. Then that faunus firebrand jumped off the SCHNEE COMPANY FREIGHTER he stowed away on and ran into town, evading law enforcement, and is probably on his way right now to a White Fang Hideout," Weiss ranted angrily.

"What _I_ saw was quite different. She wanted us to go to the docks so we could spy on the competition for the tournament without having to worry about an excuse, and then, well, he did jump off the freighter which _coincidentally_ had Schnee company logos on it. He ran down an alley and jumped up to a building using his tail as leverage and escaped. He seemed to enjoy his time running from them. Almost like an agent provocateur. Like it was a fun pastime. He didn't look like he had any ties with the White Fang," Blake explained, much more calmly.

 ***After listening to each side's arguments, you decide it may be a difference in opinion regarding the faunus race as a whole. Question Weiss or Blake?**

 ***Weiss.**

"Weiss, don't you think you may be being a bit...biased against faunus? Almost like you're stereotyping them as brutal beings that know nothing but death and despair and murder?" I asked.

"WHAT? HOW DARE YOU!" Weiss shouted indignantly.

"Hit the nail right on the head there, Frisk," said Blake.

 ***ACT**

 ***Question further**

"So do you want to tell me why?"

"Fine. There's no reason not to, I guess."

 ***You wink at Blake, finally coming to realize why she was so adamant about defending the faunus. That bow on her head looks especially fidgety today.**

"When your father runs a multimillion lien company that runs on labor forces that, I agree, are controversial and downright unlawful, and a terrorist group sets their eyes on you, painting a target on your back, as well as the rest of your family's backs, you tend not to have a fun childhood. Each night, my father would come home, steaming about the demonstrations from the White Fang. One event getting so close to home that I was almost not able to be here with all of you. Blood was dripping from my forehead and my vision was halved by a wound suffered at the hand of a faunus that shared the traits of something like a tiger. Everything was on fire. Family members lost, board members executed, kidnapped and brainwashed employees televising their resignation from the company and murdering another employee who refused to cooperate. An entire TRAIN full of dust...stolen. All of the cargo was cut off from the rest of the train. Luckily...no-one was hurt..." Weiss said, not finishing the sentence.

"Like someone wouldn't let someone else hurt anybody?" said Blake, 'guessing.'

"I could see it like that. Why?"

"Well...Weiss...I don't know how you're going to take this, but..."

"What?"

"I was there. With my partner, Adam. I cut the train from the cargo. He was going to put explosives into the cars to kill everyone on board. I couldn't allow that."

"You did WHAT?"

 ***Blake flees, seeing the fire in her teammate's eyes. Leaving nothing but a swinging door, her bow floats gently down onto the floor. Weiss picks up the ribbon, and with a look of Determination, runs off after her. The rest of team RWBY follows suit.**

 ***Encounter Completed.**

 ***0 EXP 0 Lien Earned.**

"Frisk? What happened?" Asriel asked, running after Weiss.

"Well...That's just it. I have no idea what just happened, but it sounds like Blake's a faunus," I said, following.

"I can try and find her, you know," Asriel said, directing the comment to Weiss.

"Really?" asked Weiss, stopping, sounding hopeful.

"I don't have this snoot for show. I'll wager I have a better sense of smell than even most _dog faunus_."

"I may be giving you less credit than you're worth, Asriel. Thank you," Weiss said, a genuine smile formed on her lips as she bowed slightly.

"Can I have the bow?"

"Of course. Whatever you need to find her."

"I don't think she'll like it if all of us come searching for her with a goat with a sense of smell like a bloodhound. I think I should try tracking her and you should all go to the headmaster to see if you can get out of classes to go and search for her on your own. If I find her, I'll try to learn what I can about what happened and see if I can't lead her back to you guys so she can come back. I can already smell where she is and she isn't too far. If you all hurry to go ask him, I won't be too late to follow her."

 ***Asriel acting so official and serious demonstrates clearly his skills in leadership. He was easily a born leader. You think to yourself that it may be because he was the son of a king. Your pride in Asriel converts to Determination.**

* * *

 **A/N:** **WHAT. IS. UUUUUUUP, MAH INVERTEBROTHER!? Howzit goin' folks? So, I've been writing for a while and I've been thinking about things and really, the plot hasn't made much of a change from the main series so far, so I've decided that I want to really derail from plot and start to branch off from the vanilla story and start giving this story some unique plot development and quirks. (Also Temmie will be there.) So that's a good thing for the story. I'm gonna wrap up the first volume with these next few chapters and get into the next Volume, starting with getting the dance out of the way. Also Team CVFY will be there, so yay.**

 **NOTE 1: - Sans' version of Nihilism isn't "Nothing in life matters so what's the point of living." His version is "Nothing in life matters so why worry about what's gonna happen? Let's just have fun in the here and now." When I think about it, it's a real "Italian Renaissance" way of looking at life. They were way more focused on just enjoying life.**

 **NOTE 2: - The next chapter is mostly going to be narrated by Asriel, with small parts back at Beacon and in Vale with the rest of the teams, which will be narrated by Frisk. I'll make sure to indicate who is speaking/narrating and where things are taking place, don't worry about that, but I think it's nice to have a heads-up.**

 **NOTE 3: - Pretty much anything with a SOUL can Save and Load, but not many have enough Determination to do that. The only ones who do are currently Frisk, Chara and Asriel. They all share at least a part of a Player Character's SOUL, so all of them have unique _ways to_ and _triggers for_ saving and loading.**


	10. Chapter 9 - The Judge

**A/N:** **This chapter's going to be a really long one. I mean REALLY long. I'm going to finish up volume one, so it might be upwards of 3,000 to 4,000 words. Just a heads up, but anyway...yeah. So this chapter is going to be narrated mainly by Asriel because of him tracking Blake to help the other teams find her. No more spoilers. Disclaimer, I don't own anything from RWBY or Undertale. Now begins the chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

My morning began as follows. I was woken up early because Papyrus and Blueberry were yelling and Chara was getting angry because he had a headache. Then, we walked to the cafeteria, where we got our breakfast, and saw our fellow teams, JNPR and RWBY. Weiss and Blake, who were often at odds, were yelling at each other. After Weiss slouched down, Blake looked sympathetic, but soon after Weiss said something Blake tensed up and ran. Weiss took off after her, and I took a guess that Weiss had said something that made Blake act like she did so I offered to tail her using my sense of smell as a sort of tracker. Everyone else was off to the headmaster's office to ask to be relieved of class to go and search for her.

Not exactly the morning I hoped for, but you can't always get what you want. If my years waiting for Frisk have taught me anything, it's that you have to...suffer for your art. I've done my multiverse's share of suffering, so I think I'm good for now.

So as I rounded the corner to the front door of the academy, I saw Blake sitting in front of the fountain in the courtyard, tears streaming down her face. Out of nowhere, as if a voice from above was sounding off an answer to a prayer, someone said, "I _knew_ you'd look better without the bow."

Dropping down from who-knows-where, a blonde Monkey Faunus slowly, casually walked to Blake's side, picking her up from where she was kneeling and bringing her to her feet.

"Do you do this every time someone you know is having tough times?" Blake asked, suspicion in her voice.

"Do you do this every time someone gets on your nerves?" the faunus man retorted smartly.

"Funny. Do you know anywhere where we can stay? I'm not too keen on having my teammates find me right now."

"Well...I know this teashop that rents out rooms...we could head there."

"It's a start, but starting tomorrow, I want to search for something. I'll tell you about it tomorrow."

By that time, I had snuck my way around to the lip of the fountain's base. Sadly, a stealthy approach was not advisable. I had stepped on a twig and snapped it. The snap alerted the two and they had drawn their weapons and found me.

"Asriel? What are you doing here?" Blake asked me.

"I smelled trouble between you and Weiss, and I offered to track you while they wandered around Vale to look for you themselves. Obviously, I haven't played enough Solid Gears of Metal."

"Well...Monsters are _kinda_ in the same boat as the faunus right now, so...maybe we could bring him along...Blake? Whaddya say?" said the monkey man.

"...Okay. In that case, I guess I should fill you both in on what I'm looking for."

"Like, now?" I asked.

"It's a matter of importance, so yes. Now. But we need to go somewhere where we won't be heard. Any suggestions?"

"I guess we could go back to my mom's house? I don't think she'd mind, but she might not appreciate the fact that we're supposed to be in school right now."

"Well, it's the best option we have right now, so I think we should take it."

"Hey, before we go, though...what's his name?" I asked, pointing to the man with the tail.

"Sun Wukong, at your service. You must be...who are you?" he asked.

"Asriel. Asriel Dreemurr."

"Whoa. Wait. Blake. You're friends with the monster royal family's first kid?"

"This crazy life of mine just keeps taking its turns," she responded.

* * *

"Now...what you're asking me is somewhat...hard for me. A student has fled from campus, with a visitor from another continent, and the prince of the monsters is tracking her from afar with only his sense of smell, and you want me to excuse you from class to go and look for her."

"Again, Professor Ozpin, we're really sorry about that, but yes, we need to go and look for her-" I said, getting cut off.

"Done. Frisk, please consider this a vote of confidence. If, by the end of the day, Ms. Belladonna is not back here, then I'll have no choice but to mark all of the teams here right now as absent, and deduct five points from their final average at the end of the year. Some of the people here could really use those five points. I suggest you get searching. It wouldn't be wise to sit and waste precious time."

"Of course, sir. We'll be on it faster than you can say 'get out of my office!'"

"Well in that case, get out of my office," Ozpin said, cheerily.

 ***The time constraint Ozpin puts on your search puts a fire under all members involved in the search. Your party's movement speed has increased threefold.**

* * *

"While I appreciate your generosity toward your friends, young man, I cannot help but think about what your professors are thinking! This will go on your permanent record!"

"I know you're worried, mom, but trust me on this when I say I've got it all covered. Everything is fine. Blake says there's something important that she wanted to discuss with me and Sun, so I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Okay, if you say so, but just remember the next time this happens I won't be so willing to help, my child."

"I understand. I'm sorry."

And just like that, Toriel, queen of monsters and baker of pies, left to have her morning goldenflower tea with Asgore.

As I walked into the parlor, I found Sun with his arm resting on the back of the couch behind Blake. I could tell there was something up with him.

"So are we ready to talk?" I asked, initiating the conversation.

"Yeah. So you know how a lot of Dust shops have been getting robbed lately? Well, it's getting pinned on the White Fang and I don't know if it's them," Blake started

"And?" said Sun expectantly.

" _And_ I'm having a hard time believing that the White Fang is all behind it."

"Wait, hold on. Isn't that the one thing that was on the news when we were on the airship to Beacon?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Although...there's no way to prove it isn't them."

"Well...I guess there is a way," Sun said, a look of intense concentration contorting his face.

"Tell me," Blake said, her tone bleeding the message _I'm humoring you, so let's hear it_.

"So they're a group that everyone says wants Dust, right? These shops are priority targets for some reason, right? Right. So what I'm thinking is that if we go somewhere where they would be if they were going to steal something and not find them there, right?"

"Sun, where are you going with this?" I asked, not liking what I thought was coming next.

"While I was stowing away on the boat, I heard the captain talking with a Schnee representative. They said they had a HUGE shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?" Blake asked.

"Huge. Like boatload. Biiiiig Schnee company freighter. Loads of cargo containers just _packed_ with the stuff."

"So you think that's what they plan on hitting next?" I said expectantly.

"Yup. I can feel it."

"So when did they say the shipment was due to be unloaded?" Blake asked.

"Later today, I think they said."

"So give or take a few hours, they'll probably hit the shipment under cover of nightfall," I said.

"So what should we do about it?" Blake thought out loud.

"What do _you_ think? We stop 'em!" Sun shouted enthusiastically.

* * *

"BLAKE! ASRIEL! WHERE ARE YOU?" I shouted.

"give it a rest, frisk. they'll turn up eventually. knowin' prince dreemurr, he's got some sort o' plan. he always does," I heard Sans say.

"I know, Sans, but it doesn't mean I can't try. I'm sure team RWBY and team JNPR are trying their darndest."

"Yeah. They're really trying. I'll bet you anything as soon as they landed and we took off to look, both of 'em just walked right on back to Beacon," said Chara.

"chara, i know you want to do the same. so just say it. walk away and let us do our job. or...would you rather be having...an **unpleasant experience?** " Sans menacingly droned.

"Fine. Find me at a candy shop when you're done. I'll be wherever they have chocolate."

Chara walked away, leaving me with Sans. Papyrus and the skeleswap bros had gone with the other two teams.

"Sans, you know I hate it when you do that," I said, scolding him.

"cover your ears if you don't wanna hear it."

"So...I guess now that we're alone...would you mind telling me what that photo album was?"

"kiddo, if i told ya, you wouldn't believe me."

"Just tell me."

"...fine. it all started when a meteor had fallen down to the planet, and i was sitting in my house on the surface. i went to go and see the meteor, but when i found it, it wasn't a meteor at all. it was a spaceship. a ufo. a small little alien named mr. saturn jumped out and told me the world was in danger because an evil alien named giygas was going to destroy it. long story short, i journeyed across eagleland, from onett to fourside, and a load of other places, making new friends and eventually we defeated giygas by putting our souls into robot bodies, going back in time and space and fighting it. along the way, me and the group i had assembled would get together and take a group photo. we took one in almost every new area we explored. how's that?"

"So if you were human...I'll take a guess and say Sans wasn't your human name."

"how _did_ you know? i thought i was so sneaky and well covered that there was absolutely _no way_ you'd ever find out. i'm ness. nice to meet ya," Sans said, sarcasm resonating through his skull.

"Ness? Huh...I think I've heard that name before."

"really? where?"

"I used to live in an orphanage run by a nice lady named Paula."

"and what'd she say about me?"

"She said she hoped you were okay and that she missed the 'old days.' She used to talk to me about the rest of your old group. It was you, her, Poo, and Jeff Andonuts. She'd always refer to Jeff as Jeff Andonuts. Not just Jeff."

"that's her, alright. so where is this orphanage?"

"Onett. Every year, we'd take a trip up to your old house and visit that old meteor."

"twenty years'll do that to ya. you get all nostalgic. when was that last adventure? 199X? and it's 201X right now?"

"But when I went to go to Mount Ebott, which, coincidentally is a brother mountain to Mount Itoi, Paula, who ran the orphanage, had gone out on an adventure with this guy named Varik. The Orphanage was in chaos when she left, and I couldn't deal with it. I needed some time away, and as I was climbing up to a spot where I usually sat for quiet, my foot was caught under a tree root and I fell into the underground. My brother decided to come after me when I didn't return to the Orphanage for a while."

"varik, huh? think i know him. he was a wannabe city slicker from fourside when i knew him back in 199X no older than i was, and he was a real shortstack. he used to wear this faux leather jacket and act all tough."

* * *

 ***Hello darkness my old friend, I kind of cannot see again. Could someone please turn the lights on? Your train of thought derailing and snapping you out of your trance focuses you on what is about to happen. The dirt on the roof is starting to get into your fur. Knowing that the eventual result of laying here will help your friend Blake makes the dirt worth it. You are filled with Determination.**

"'Sup? I stole us some food," Sun said.

"Do you _always_ break the rules without a second thought?" Blake asked him.

"Weren't you in a cult?" I asked, trying to defend Sun.

"Weren't you a flower?" She responded, going right for where it hurts.

"So what are we waiting for?" Sun asked, crouching down to meet our heads.

"Any sign of the White Fang."

The roar of a jet blasted over us, as three Bullhead ships flew in and landed, opening up to reveal soldiers in white with a red insignia on their backs.

"Is that them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Sun answered.

"You really hoped it wasn't them," I said, reading Blake's expression.

"Deep down, I knew they'd be here. I just didn't want to be right."

"What is _wrong_ with you animals?" someone yelled.

"Now, I know for a fact that your organization isn't one to work with humans, but we aren't exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of criminals right now. You mutts go and get the tow cables...You monsters can go...I don't know, go magic up a way to hook these things to the ships," the someone continued, walking out of a ship.

"Blake, who is that?"

"I've seen him on the news before. He's pretty far away but the hat, cane, suit jacket and fiery orange hair all points to Roman Torchwick. But why would the White Fang work with him?"

Without another word, Blake jumped off of the roof we were hiding on and ran up to Torchwick and within seconds, had him with her sword at his throat.

 _If she could do it, so can I._ I thought.

I jumped off of the building, using fire magic to jettison my way down slowly. While Blake was busy with the White Fang soldiers I snuck through the crates of Dust on the loading bay and knocked out some of the faunus at the back of the group. Looking harder around the group of henchmen, I noticed a few figures in hooded purple robes holding guns up to Blake along with the White Fang soldiers. I could feel the magic emitting from them, and I knew immediately that they were monsters.

 _Has it really been that long? Has monster rights gotten this extreme that a separate extremist faction for monster rights has risen to aid the White Fang?_

An explosion broke the silence and I looked out to where Blake was to find smoldering rubble. Luckily, all the soldiers and monsters nearby had only been knocked out by the blast.

* * *

 ***The sound of an explosion ripples through the air. You are filled with Dread.**

"don't worry, kiddo. i got this."

* * *

As the smoke cleared from the rubble, Sans walked out into the light of the loading bay.

Blake, Sun, Roman and myself along with the White Fang and the Monsters all stopped to stare at him.

The monsters and White Fang soldiers backed away from him, and Blake and Sun stood stock still. Roman looked at him in fear, and I simply stood there watching, a smirk lining my face.

"it's a beautiful night tonight. street lights are shining. people are smiling. everything is peaceful. on nights like these... **criminal scum** like **you**...should be **burning in Hell.** "

 **(MEGALOVANIA PLAYS. ANY VERSION YOU WANT.)**

 ***Criminal Scum is being judged by Sans.**

 ***Criminal Scum attacks!**

 ***MISS**

"c'mon. you didn't really think i was gonna stand there and take it, did you?"

 ***Sans attacks!**

 ***Criminal Scum loses 14 HP.**

 ***Criminal Scum ACTs.**

"So just who the hell are you? What's a smiley trashbag like you doing trying to fight me?"

"me? i'm an arbiter. now stand still and let me judge you."

 ***Sans takes a deep breath.**

 ***you killed a lot of people, eh?**

 ***you're a pretty bad person.**

 ***LV 40? you're even worse than the Genocide Timelines.**

 ***this isn't my normal Judgement Hall, but...**

 ***i think it's about time you received some...**

 ***Karmic Retribution.**

 ***Sans attacks!**

Gasterblasters, giant dragon-like skulls, appear out of nowhere and aim for Roman. Roman sidesteps most of them, but is hit by a few stray shots.

 ***Criminal Scum loses 30 HP**

 ***Criminal Scum Uses Cane!**

 ***MISS**

"try aiming better."

 ***Roman tenses as his sins crawl under his skin.**

 ***Roman retreats to a Bullhead!**

"you aren't gettin' away that easy."

 ***Roman is Blue now.**

 ***That's Sans' attack.**

 ***Roman is thrown about the loading bay.**

 ***Roman loses 50 HP.**

 ***90 HP left.**

 ***Roman Flees!**

"EVERYONE! BACK TO THE BULLHEADS! NOW! RUN!" shouted Roman, jumping into a Bullhead. The ships took off, not one leaving with a shipping container.

"Sans! That was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?" Blake said, running up to him, followed by me and Sun.

"well...i learned from a mystery man."

Teams RWBY and JNPR came running, followed by Frisk, Papyrus, Paps, Blueberry and a mystery girl with orange hair.

"Okay, Weiss, it isn't what you think. Blake _is_ a faunus, and she _was_ part of the White Fang, but right then and there, we just fought a group of White Fang soldiers and possibly a White Fang subdivision for monsters and Blake found out they were working with Roman Torchwick for some reason, but nevermind that, she's got cat ears and they're actually kinda cute, so try not to be hard on her," I said, hoping to clear up an issue she might have had with Blake.

"Blake," Weiss said.

"Weiss," Blake said in response.

"I don't care."

"What?"

"I don't care. If what you say is true, you saved the lives of tens if not hundreds of Schnee workers, and tonight you prevented the thievery of thousands of lien-worth of Dust, with, from what I understand, some help from Sans. As far as I'm concerned, you were in with the wrong crowd, saw your wrongdoing, and went against it. As for how I see it, to me, you were never affiliated with the White Fang to begin with. Just...try being more open about these issues. And maybe try showing off the ears once in a while. You _do_ look better without the bow. Just make sure that the next time something this big happens, you come to _us,_ your teammates, and not some – not someone else."

"Thank you."

...

...

...

"YEAH! TEAM RWBY IS BACK TOGETHER!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

The shattered moon rose high in the sky as Roman Torchwick walked into the warehouse, tipsy with fear.

 _You're a pretty bad person._

Roman visibly shuddered, setting down the small toolbox full of Dust he salvaged from the wreck that was that night's operation.

"Roman," said someone behind him, sounding disappointed.

Roman jumped, spinning around to meet the face of a shadowy figure.

"I was expecting more from you, Roman."

"Hahaaaa, yeah, funny...me too...I was kinda let down myself when a skeleton with psychic powers showed up, trashed my op and ripped my bowler hat. A little backup would've been appreciated."

"Well now, Roman, don't get ahead of yourself. I don't think you're in the position here to be making demands."

"R-right. Sorry, uhh...Oh! But I just remembered! The other shipment came in!" Roman said excitedly.

He ran to the back of the warehouse and stood by a large curtain covering something.

"3...2...1...SURPRISE!" He shouted, throwing off the curtain in a fabulous flourish.

Underneath the curtain was indeed something to be happy about for that shadowy person.

"Excellent. Despite your failures, we may still be able to move on to Phase 2 of the plan."

"And how do I know when the phases shift from there?"

"Oh, you'll know. I think you're good enough at reading someone and their actions to know when the phases shift. For now, lay low. Now...It's time for me to have some fun."

Evil laughter filled the warehouse, and rang out into the night, the haunting echo etching another crack in the broken form of the moon.


	11. V2 - C1 - Dance Prep

**A/N:** **That was indeed an interesting ending. I tried to move away from the RWBY version of things by trying to make Roman a little more scared of Cinder than he was in the show. Anyways, welcome to A Simple Soul's Determination Volume 2! Yeah, I know my stories tend to die out and finish around the 10 to 15 chapters mark, but this one ain't ending any time soon. I've got plans.** _ **Really fun plans**_ **. Most of which are related to volume 3 and my headcanon volume four. So yeah. Enjoy Volume 2, Chapter 1, "Dance Prep."**

 **Credit to ToaGaimZXA for pairing ideas. Thanks man.**

 **Also, a shoutout to my friend, Vincent. We've been shooting the shit over this story and have come up with some pretty awesome ideas for it in the future.**

* * *

 _My child..._

 _My child, it is time to wake up..._

 _Please, wake up, Frisk..._

"I...who...whaaaa?" I said groggily, blinking rapidly as I sat up in my bed, slowly regaining my sight.

"Good morning, Frisk. I am pleased to see that you are safe, regarding the events of Monday," said Toriel.

 _Wait..._

 _Toriel? What is she doing at Beacon?_

"Ah, you must be confused. After Monday, your headmaster was kind enough to offer me a job here at Beacon to teach monster history, which will become a required subject for all students in each of their four years."

"Okay, so what are we going to be learning?"

"That's right; I do remember you were always quite the history buff. We'll be going from the Monster-Human war to the current affairs of Monsters above ground. And considering those nine years you spent in bed, you may want to pay attention in class."

"Sounds fun! Thanks, Mom."

"UUUUUGH. GREAT. Another meaningless class to add to the neverending list," complained Chara, who was laying in his bed, his pillow covering his face.

"Don't mind Chara, Mom. He's just...not as interested in history as the rest of the classes," Asriel said, trying to justify Chara's unsightly behavior.

"Oh, and just so you all don't forget, the dance is still this Saturday! It's Thursday now, so you had better hurry!" Toriel said, her voice pitching up in excitement as she left the room.

"Speaking of; guys, have you given any thought as to who you wanted to go with?" I asked, hoping to play matchmaker.

"Well...there're a lot of options, really. There's like, the entirety of team RWBY, Pyhrra, a couple of second years from team CFVY, and of course, some people from the other continents of Remnant as well," Asriel said, trying to hide his blush.

"I'll see what I can do to narrow down your options then," I said, putting on a sly smile, "and what about you, Chara?"

"Well...there're a lot of options, really. There's nobody, no one, myself, and me. Alone."

"Aww, don't be like that. I'm sure _someone_ will like you and your...uhhh...yeah, I can't actually find _any_ redeeming qualities about you."

"SUCH HONESTY! IT REMINDS ME OF...ME!"

"Papyrus, no. I'm not going to have a repeat of what happened in the underground," I said.

 ***Remembering your "date" with Papyrus in the underground, you shudder. Visibly and (strangely enough) audibly. Your face flushes red and you are filled with...Discomfort.**

"Sans, do me a favor. Can you see if anyone in any alternate universe you know of would go with Chara to the dance? I don't want him to look like a _complete_ loner."

"so you want him to go from loner to _bone_ r? in that case, i think i got ya."

 ***Even you cringe at that pun. That was just disgusting. Yet again, you are filled with...Discomfort.**

Sans, by that time had already jumped into a wormhole and had begun searching. After a silent fifteen minutes, the hum of the space-time rip stopped, and Sans' head poked through the wormhole.

"i got ya. it may be a bit weird though."

Sans walks out of the portal, a tall, red-eyed, brown-haired girl in a green sweatshirt in tow.

"Howdy, everybody."

"yeah...the only person i thought would ever have any kind of similarities or..."attraction" to you, was an alternate version of yourself. meet yourself from the "storyshift" timeline. a timeline where i'm king of the monsters, papyrus takes care of the ruins, toriel is the captain of the royal guard and asgore is the royal scientist. you, chara, are the arbiter of that world, and asriel acts like he's roleplaying as his super omniscient "god of hyperdeath."

" **Hellooooo,** _ **pretty mirror**_ **! Partner, looking at you...we're gonna be** _ **good pals**_ ," she said, her left eye glowing red for a moment.

"Yeah...great. Take 'er back," Chara said unenthusiastically as his own eyes flashed red, as if warning her to take a step back. She cut open her own portal through space-time and went back to her own dimension.

"well...looks like that took care of itself...frisk, i wanted to talk to you alone for a moment. it's about that time in forever fall."

* * *

"why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"load a save. you promised me no more loads."

"Jaune and Cardin were in danger. I had to load that morning's save to help them."

"in this reality, that's what was meant to happen. you can't just screw with time until you get what you want!"

"Isn't this what you told me about when we were in the Judgement Hall? To "help as many people as I can?"

"not like that! in that timeline, jaune's death meant someone else wouldn't die! that's how this timeline was supposed to be! you said no more tampering with the timeline!"

"I'm sorry Sans, but...to quote you, **this is why I never make promises.** Now are we going to help Asriel with his...lady troubles or not?"

"fine. you win. but don't think i'll take it easy next time this happens. and it _will_ happen again."

* * *

The team had decided to go and get our breakfast before class started, and I was looking over at Asriel almost every second I could. His expression was blank. Unreadable. It was almost as if he had put a mask over his real face.

When we got to the cafeteria, it was in ruins. The only surviving foods at the tables were spaghetti, assorted sandwiches, and a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. Teams RWBY and JNPR were stained from head to toe with all sorts of food, and were sitting together, laughing like madmen. Ruby, Yang and Weiss' heads all swiveled toward us as we walked over to the table they sat at. As we walked over, I saw Asriel walking towards one of his new friends, Monster Kid, who was sitting with Velvet.

"Okay guys, my brother, Asriel, has been iffy about who he wants to go to the dance with. He mentioned team RWBY, Pyhrra and a couple of second years. If anyone would like to "lay claim" now would be the time to do so."

"Yo."

"Yang?"

"Actually...no. I was thinking more of...Chara. He's got that whole, "rough n' tumble, unkempt badass" feel about him."

"Uhhh...yeah...sure. I'll tell him about you...see if he wants to."

"Great."

"So...seriously though. Anyone?"

"I will!" shouted Ruby.

"I will!" shouted Weiss.

"Oh boy. Guys, let's go sit somewhere else and watch the sparks fly," Jaune said, cueing his team that it was time to leave.

"Okay, wait. Let me get this straight. Weiss, you want to go with Asriel, and Ruby, _you_ want to go with Asriel."

"Right," Weiss said, somewhat dejectedly

"Yup," Ruby said, uncharacteristically quiet.

"So if I'm right in this sense, there's going to have to be something that'll determine who actually will."

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" suggested Weiss.

"That won't work. Too "blah" and "normal." I'm thinking something more personal."

"Like..." Ruby said, trying to move the conversation on.

"Like...How about this. I'll get him to go to a room that I tell him to go to. You two will be waiting there. No one leaves until he either says he has eyes for someone else, or he agrees to go with one of you. I'll be outside with the key to the room. Knock ten times if he's made a decision. Knock twelve times if he says neither of you. How's that sound? I might be able to get Ozpin to recommend a room we can use."

"Reasonable, but extreme. I like it," Weiss said, her face twisting into a sinister grin.

"Not what I would've picked, but it'll get the job done faster," said Ruby, childlike excitement coursing through her.

 ***It feels somewhat creepy to play Cupid's angel for your little brother. You feel your sins crawling on your back. You shudder in disgust to rid yourself of the feeling and, looking at Asriel talking with Monster Kid and Velvet, you are Determined to help him.**

* * *

"You want me to recommend a room in which you can kidnap your own brother and keep him there until he does what you, Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose demand?"

"That's it, Ozpin."

"Well, first off, thank you for calling me what I ask you to. Second, I think I have just the room. There should be an empty classroom that isn't connected to any other rooms on the first floor of the lecture hall building. It used to belong to Ruby's uncle, Qrow, before his teaching position had moved from here to Signal academy. It's at the end of the hall on your right when you first enter the building, on the left side of the hallway."

"Okay. Thank you, sir. A quick question, though. Why are you helping me?"

"The magic of the wizard operates in strange ways. These ways are often ludicrous and seemingly unrelated and somewhat stupid, but believe me when I say that, for every action, there is a consequence. If you knew what actions caused certain consequences, would you do your best to try and...set things right in your eyes?"

"Uh...Yes, I would but what does that have to do with – Ohhhh...you know what my semblance does, don't you."

"You could say that. There are many things you could say. As for how many are right, that's another story entirely. Now go and subject your brother to whatever torture you have planned for him. I'm sure, somehow, that it's worth it."

"Now, Asriel, if you'd just come this way, I have a surprise for you that I think you'll like."

"What is it? I wanna know! It sounds like fun."

"That would ruin the surprise, now, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

I opened the door, and as he saw the faces of Weiss and Ruby, he began to turn more red in the face than white. His eyes widened and he began to bleat furiously as he was dragged into the room by the two girls. What they did with him, I'll never know.

 ***As you hear Asriel's bleats die down and banter begin, you begin to feel sleep take over. It's night time and you had a long day of classes. Your combat class was the hardest one, considering the fact that you don't fight. You are filled with Drowsiness. Your eyes close and sleep envelopes you.**

* * *

 ***Ten Knocks**

"Frisk! You can open the door now! I've made my decision!" I heard Asriel yell through the door, waking me up.


	12. V2 - C2 - Dance Dance Infiltration

**A/N:** **Three cheers for ships. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. Wooooooo. I have so much planned that I can't wait to implement but MY GOD it's killing me trying to hold in the spoilers. AUGH.**

 **So yeah, anyway, I guess I should keep going with the whole thing now that I'm back. Shoutout to friendo Vincent for general ideas relating to some story elements. Thanks, buddy.**

 **I don't own Undertale, RWBY or, I guess, Earthbound because of Ness and stuff.**

 **Keep in mind that in this story, Frisk is still a girl. Not a guy. Chara** _ **in this story**_ **is a guy.**

 **In the actual cannon, Frisk remains genderless, and Chara is a girl, but for the sake of the story, Frisk is a girl and Chara is a guy.**

* * *

"So. Who'd he pick?" I heard Yang ask me, lazily tugging at her hair.

"I'm not telling until they walk through that door," I said.

"You're no fun. C'mon, tell me!" she begged, setting up the last fog machine.

"Remind me again why you're wearing a dress."

"Remind me why _you_ are wearing a suit?"

"I prefer pants, thank you. And besides, I'm not exactly 'feeling it' tonight."

"Awww, you're just sour because you weren't asked to the dance by anyone," Yang said into the microphone on the stage, ruffling my hair as she tested the speakers for one last time.

"Now I'm _definitely_ not telling you."

"Sourpuss!" she shouted playfully.

"Dress-wearer!" I retorted.

"Better insults, Frisk," Chara said in a strangely calming voice as he passed by me, toting an entire turntable under his arm.

"Hey! My insults are great!"

"Yeah, if you're a five-year-old...or Jerry."

 ***The intensity of that SICK BURN leaves you struck dumb. You stand there dazed as you try to come back to your senses. Then you realize that the ballroom is coming together rather slowly. Shutting up and helping your friends set up the dance fills you with Determination. Please apply cold water to burned area.**

* * *

I looked around the ballroom as students and teachers began arriving at the dance.

"I think this turned out well, don't you think, Yang?"

I looked to my left and Yang was nowhere to be seen.

"Yang?"

I looked down into the crowd from the upper level of the room to see if she had gone off somewhere. I couldn't find her anywhere.

The doors to the ballroom opened and team JNPR walked in. Ren had Nora all over his arm, practically climbing on him, while Jaune and Pyrrha were awkwardly looking around the room. Following them was a pair that absolutely shocked me. Yang, who wore a blindingly yellow dress, with Chara next to her in an emerald green suit, a yellow button-down shirt and a lime green bowtie.

"How...did that...work," I said to myself, stunned.

 _Chara's_ _ **smiling**_ _,_ was all I thought.

And then the doors opened again. Blake walked in with her monkey friend, Sun, who had decided to put on a tie in conjunction with his usual attire for a feeble attempt at "formal-wear." Behind them was what Chara and Yang had been waiting for. Who Asriel had chosen to go to the dance with.

Ruby walked through the door looking sheepish, and made a bee-line for the punch bowl. That could only mean one thing.

"Weiss?" I heard Chara say before the music started.

Asriel walked through the doors to the ballroom in the traditional monster ceremonial robes of purple, with Weiss trailing him in a dress of pure snow white, conjoined by their hands. They easily weaved their way through the crowd and onto the dance floor, as they moved in sync with grace and elegance unmatched.

Asriel had a sly smile stained across his face for a while, and Weiss looked positively jolly, her normally pale features flush with rosy red blush, and a large smile lighting upon her face. I watched peacefully for a few moments before someone interrupted me.

"heya kid. guess you're here 'cause you're alone? cool. me too. how're ya doin'?"

"I'm feeling _fabulous_ , Sans."

"somethin' eatin' at ya?"

"No, actually. I'm actually feeling quite fabulous tonight, Sans. I gave Yang and Chara a big ol' shocker, and I got to see why Chara was being so un _Chara_ cteristically happy."

"heh. good one, kid. say, you feel that?"

"That strange sense that tonight isn't going to go as great as I had planned?"

"all's i'm sayin' is to keep watch on ruby. she's probably gonna be in danger if she leaves the party before the party ends. just a heads-up," he said, moving his eye socket to wink at me, hoping I would catch what he was trying to say.

 _In a past timeline here, something bad must have happened outside the party that involved Ruby. He must want me to investigate. It's a good thing I look spiffy. Can't be a detective without looking like a super sharp and intellectual, yet well-built person. Sadly, I only look sharp._

The dance officially started at six o'clock, after classes. I watched the pairs of Chara, Yang and Asriel and Weiss for about an hour and then shifted my gaze to Ruby. This was a promise to Sans I was willing to keep. Sure enough, four hours after the dance started, Ruby left the building and she looked like she was tailing something or someone...clumsily, might I add.

* * *

 **Klik**

 **Klak**

 **Klik**

 **Klak**

 _Note to self, leather shoes are_ _ **noisy as all heck**_ _._

 **Vrrrrrm**

 _Automatic doors...how convenient._

" **Which floor would you like to visit, fine Sir or Madam?"**

"Top floor. A friend is waiting for me."

" **Of course. Have a** _ **wonderful**_ **night."**

 _Just what is it Sans was so worried about? The only problem I see is that all the guards are...oh, wait...all the guards have been knocked out. Shoot._

 **PING!**

" **Top floor, just as you requested. Thank you for visiting the Vale CCT."**

"Thanks...computer...person. Wait for me?"

" **Of course. I'll be right here if you need me."**

 _So where is Ruby?_

 **CRASH**

 _I guess that oughta be her. This is probably bad._

"Who's there? I-I'm warning you! I'll fight!" I shouted to no one in particular.

 **CRASH**

"Ruby? Is that you?"

"Frisk?" I finally heard someone shout back.

"Ruby!"

"Help would be appreciated!"

"On my way!"

I ran to where I heard her voice from and I saw her locked in an intense battle against a masked stranger.

Ruby was under heavy fire from a hail of arrows and was tripping over her feet. It was only a matter of time before she got hurt. Although I knew it would happen, it shocked me when she _did_ get hurt. She was hit several times in both shoulders and one pierced through her heel and broke her high-heel shoe. She was bleeding. Badly. I couldn't bear the sight and I just... _let go_.

A strange, yellow-orange manila folder materialized into existence and somehow, I knew I could do something.

The folder opened and pulled out a barrage of Undyne's spears, which immediately shot towards the masked stranger. A flurry of strange things flew from the folder, including a few Temmies and was thrown at the stranger. They were dodged easily, although the spears did a number on whoever they were. Bones spun like car tires at them and they were almost powerless to do anything. Then, I stopped. The folder disappeared, the weapons dematerialized, and the stranger, whoever they were, was gone, nowhere to be seen.

 ***You won!**

 ***0 EXP 40 G earned**

 ***Checkmate.**

 _Checkmate? What's that supposed to mean? No. Can't pay attention to that now. Ruby's still in danger._

"I...gotta get...back to...back to the dance," Ruby said, coughing up blood as she crawled feebly over to the elevator.

" _We_ gotta get _you_ to a hospital. I can see your heel bone. And you're bleeding really badly."

"It's just a scratch. Trust me. I'm fine," she said, her voice strained and distressed, working through the pain.

Her shoulders popped back into place with a sickening _Shlooorp_ and the holes where the arrows shot through mended. Her heel, which was cut clean through, was visually healed, although I could see she wouldn't be walking without a cast and crutches. Plainly, the skin had healed, but the bones hadn't. I could see a few fragments of bones scattered around her foot. She either had a broken or (if she was lucky) fractured foot. It would put her out of commission for at least a month to a month and a half.

"Stand up as best as you can. I'll pick you up and carry you back to school. We'll get Professor Peach to take a look at you when we get there, okay? I'll be as fast as I can," I said.

"A-Alright. Just...wake me up when we get there."

"RUBY NO!"

"Wha-what?"

"If you "go to sleep," you aren't waking up."

"O-okay," she said, keeping herself as alert as she could be.

"Ruby, what's your favorite color?"

"I think it's kind of obvious. Is this really the time for-"

"Just answer the _damn_ question."

"Red!" she said quickly as she was lifted off her feet and into my arms.

...

"Did I scare you?"

"Kind of, yeah. I don't normally hear you use swear words."

"I don't normally like to use them. They make me feel weird. Anyway...Is it true that there's an entire continent of the world devoted to almost the entire world's faunus population?"

"Yeah, that's Menagerie. Why?"

"Ruby, I thought you'd know by now why I'm doing this. It's gonna take a while to get to Beacon from here. There's at least another five or ten minutes until we get there. I'm questioning you so you don't lose consciousness and die. It's happened too many times to Chara. I've pretty much lost count by now."

"Can _I_ ask a question?"

"Fire away."

"Why do you keep saying things like that?"

"What?"

"A couple times at lunch when you were out at Grillby's with Sans, I talked with Asriel and he said something about hearing you talk in your sleep about timelines. That...and you just made no sense."

"My semblance is to "Save" and "Load" specific events and store them in some sort of file. Sans says there's something even more to my semblance, but then he told me to start learning sign language so I'm pretty sure he's trying to mess with me. Asriel and Chara can do it too, but usually, Chara's Loads have some...disastrous consequences. Like the deaths of everyone he used to care about."

"Oh...I'm sorry..."

"No, it's...it's okay, just...we need you in the infirmary...now. Those wounds healed up pretty quickly, but there were some bone chips laying around in the CCT, and you've probably got some internal bleeding going on. Is it hard to breathe?"

"No?" she answered, suspicion in her voice.

"If you're wondering, I'm asking if you've punctured a lung."

" _Yuuugh,_ " she said, as I felt her against my shoulder, shivering.

"I'll take that as a "no" then."

 **PING!**

" **Bottom Floor. Thank you for visiting the CCT. Please have a wonderful evening."**

As we exited the CCT, a stocky, burly man in a white suit entered, looking angry.

"Who are you and what are you doing here so late?" he questioned urgently.

"Uhhh, I-I'm Frisk, and this is Ruby. From what it looked like to me, Ruby was fighting someone who was trying to hack into the CCT, and she stopped them, but they got away. Ruby got hurt fighting them, and might have lost a few bones in her feet, so I really must be going, sir. I need to get to Beacon's infirmary immediately."

"Quite...If you'll excuse me, ladies. Please move on. If what you say is true, then I'll need to take a look at the network."

"Thank you."

* * *

I did end up at the infirmary with Ruby safe in a bed...eventually. We were having her checked out by Professor Peach to make sure there wasn't anything seriously wrong.

"Hmmm...Yes...Interesting...Quite interesting, indeed," she said, looking through a magnifying glass.

"Professor Peach, what is it?" I asked her.

"Well, Frisk, Ruby here does have some missing bones like you expected, but she isn't bleeding, inside or out. Her aura must have reattached the severed arteries in the shoulders and the foot."

"Can I see?"

"So sorry, Frisk, but I'm afraid all you'll see is her leg. My semblance allows me to turn any glass I can see into something that will show me an x-ray of whatever I'm looking at. It does get annoying at times, as I have glasses...your heart rate does seem normal, though. No health issues for you, although I see a heavy intake of spaghetti. Care to explain that?"

"I have a friend who's absolutely obsessed with spaghetti. I'm sure you've seen him; his name is Papyrus."

"Of course I have, I took care of him for his nine years here while you were in the room down the hall with Sans and your brother."

"So, back to Ruby...can you fix her up?"

"I believe so, but the healing process will take a while. She'll need new bones implanted where they used to be. Luckily, I am a master surgeon. Either way we go about this, she'll be bed-bound for at least a week to two weeks at the _very least_ , not counting the time she'll have to rest after that. Can you inform her team about what happened?"

"Well, I can, but they won't take it well. Should I tell my team too?"

"If you would like to, since it concerns _your_ well-being as well as hers."

"Oh, actually, can I try something?"

"It depends..."

"I picked up a trick from a monster in the underground and I wanted to see if it could help Ruby."

"You have the floor."

 ***You rest your hand on Ruby's foot and flood with Determination. Your hand begins to glow a strange aqua green, and you see slightly nauseating shifting underneath Ruby's skin. Following this, you ask Peach to take one more look at Ruby's foot.**

"My God, Frisk, do you know what you've just done?"

"Not entirely."

"Her bones are back! How did you do that?"

"I-uh-I learned it from Toriel about nine years ago when we encountered a Froggit with a hurt leg. She taught me to use healing magic, but I wasn't too good at it at the time. I could barely close up the wound. I guess it gets better with age."

"We may have to get in touch with her. Toriel works here now, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am. She's the only teacher for Monster History."

"Thank you. I'll have to call her sometime and discuss a way I can take lessons from her."

* * *

Later at night, I was sitting on the edge of the student dorms building, looking out at the Emerald Forest, thinking over the night's events.

 _Things started out so simple tonight. What happened? First, I had a great time at the dance, watching the night's "big reveal," and then Sans told me to keep an eye on Ruby. Ruby got shot by that person at CCT, and then that shady guy came in and apparently checked the network. But...what was that folder? I remember Sans saying something about this. Files?_

" _ **if you screw with them enough...well, just try to learn sign language."**_

"I know you're trying to tell me something, Sans. Why can't you just tell me what you're trying to say?"

"if you've gotta know, kiddo, don't talk about people who are listening. it's kinda rude."

"AHH SANS WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" I yelled, almost falling from the building.

"relax kid. i heard about ruby. how's she doin'?"

"Well, she's in the infirmary for bed-rest. Her foot is healed though."

"what?"

"Right. She went into the CCT, got shot, and the person she fought left. I took her to the infirmary to get help, and then I tried to use Toriel's healing magic on her, and her bones grew back."

"good to know if i ever get a _splitting_ headache."

"So...a weird thing happened at the CCT when I saw Ruby get shot."

"and that weird thing would be?"

"A folder appeared and threw a bunch of stuff from the underground at whoever that person that shot Ruby was."

"that _is_ weird. so didja get what i meant about files?"

"I was actually just thinking that over."

"be prepared for a visit, then."

"Visit from who?"

"a visit from the mystery man."

"So should I start taking classes on sign language?"

"you're a good kid, frisk. just try not to get into a problem you can't get out of."

"What does that even mean? What are you talking about? Is this one of your pranks across space-time? You know I hate those!"

"this isn't a prank. **just think about the future."**

"What's there to think about?"

"missions are tomorrow, kiddo. think about it. team rwby is out of commission, and we're pretty much required to take one. i've been talking with them, and apparently they want us to check out any missions outside the city and to the southwest. i guess something big is gonna happen there."

"Knowing you, you already know what happens," I said, not very excited about the concept of missions.

"you comin' down to the room? i wouldn't right now. yang and chara are kinda suckin' face with each other right now, and i guess it'd be rude to interrupt, right? it'd sure pop his bubble, alright. and if you're wondering where asriel is, he's waiting for you down in team rwby's dorm."

"Thanks, Sans. I'll be sure to... _avoid_ our room."

"that's my little prankster. i'm so proud that you're learning."

"Well, what's a dorm room shared by three siblings without awkward situations?"

"boring, that's what."

"Exactly. See you, Sans!" I said, getting up, taking out my scroll, and running down the stairs.

"And before I go, Sans, I have a question. Isn't it kinda rude to be listening to other people's conversations?"

* * *

"AAAAAH!"

 ***click. Lights are off.**

"Okay, Frisk. Presumably, you saw me and Yang making out. I know it's kinda weird to see me doing that with anyone, so I'm sorry you had to see that. You should probably go. The lights are staying off until you do. Asriel is waiting with Blake and Weiss down the hall, so you should probably go find him."

"Yeah, okay, I'll do that," I said, my words and my breath coming out ragged.

 ***You are forever traumatized. It is time for you to leave.**

I closed the door and walked tipsily down the hall and knocked on the door to RWBY's room.

"Come in," Blake called.

The door swung open before me, and I saw Blake, Weiss and Asriel sitting patiently around a small Kotatsu, drinking tea.

"Uhh...am I interrupting something?" I asked.

"No, not at all! Please, come in and enjoy some tea with us," Asriel said to me, pulling me to the table and pouring me a cup of tea.

"Golden Flower tea. I guarantee you'll love it," he said.

"Why are you so cheery all of a sudden?" I asked.

"Is it not obvious?" he said, gesturing to Weiss.

"Oh. Right. Hey, don't spill any tea on your robes. Mom's gonna have a fit if you do."

"Right...so I heard we have missions coming up tomorrow!"

"Yeah, but I got word from Sans that team RWBY won't be able to go."

"What? Why?" he asked, almost spilling his tea.

"Ruby's in bed for several injuries to the shoulders and the foot. She left the party to go after someone who snuck into the CCT and got shot with a volley of arrows. I followed her, and I carried her back to Beacon and healed her foot using some healing magic I learned in the underground."

"So we can't go on missions because our leader is out of commission. Sorry, Asriel, but we agreed with Frisk only to tell you when she got here. She called me about it before she came down from the roof," Blake said.

"Crap."

"So we want you and your team to go to any mission that smells like trouble that's anywhere southwest of Vale. Possibly near Mountain Glenn. It's an abandoned expansion of Vale that used to be connected to Vale by train. We're thinking that this might be where the White Fang have set up a base," Weiss said.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Team RWBY's been doing some...extracurricular activities, like sneaking into White Fang bases and blowing up giant robots from other kingdoms. Yeah, I know. We're pretty badass," Blake answered.

"Says the girl with the bow."

"Hey! My bow is black! Black is the color of badass!"

"Which is why you have an unnecessary black ribbon at your gun's grip."

"N-no! That's for- uh I mean- nevermind," Blake said, defeated.

 ***Seeing your friends playfully arguing is a comfort to you after tonight's hectic events. Knowing that everyone is safe and sound fills you with Determination.**

* * *

 **NOTE: A Kotatsu is a small, Japanese table that is usually used for friendly meetings over tea. It has a heater underneath the small drape of fabric at the edge of the table so it's all nice and toasty underneath it. That's usually why, if you have a Kotatsu and a cat, you'll find the cat underneath the table next to the heater. Before electricity, hot coals were used to heat the Kotatsu.**

 **A/N:** **So yeah...If you couldn't tell, I decided to show off a couple of pairings now and save a few for a bit later in the story...like end of volume 3 to maybe a slow-burn volume 4 (volume 4 is going to be all headcannon. I'm not going to follow RWBY cannon after I finish volume 3. BUT! I can promise you that volume 4 of this story will be the last and longest volume.**


	13. V2 - C3 - On the Job

**A/N:** **I forgot to do this in the other chapter, so I'll do it now. Thanks to all of you that voted on the pairings of the characters, your contribution to the story has been made. Special thanks are in order for all of the talented artists that entered their work for this story. It means a lot to me that** _ **you**_ **took time out of** _ **your**_ **day for my story without having to be paid for it. Thank you so much. The artists who have entered their work should really have gotten paid for this. To those of you whose ship was not picked, I'm sorry, especially to the artist who sent in a piece for a Ruby x Sans pairing. I'm sorry it wasn't picked, but you did a great job.**

* * *

 ***Standing in the amphitheater of Beacon, looking for the mission that Team RWBY told you to go on makes you shake with Anticipation...your movement speed has increased in areas adjacent to Beacon, as well as in Beacon itself.**

 ***As you tap a small screen near the corner of the amphitheater, it folds out and displays the mission title, "Mountain Glenn: Search and Destroy." The mission's details explain more. Read them or sign up immediately?**

 ***Read**

"This mission, **Mountain Glenn: Search and Destroy** , was recently set up due to reliable intel that was received related to a possible location of a notorious crime syndicate, whose most recent crime was the illegal ownership of an Atlas Paladin mobile armor, and its use to attempt the murder of six Beacon students, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Sun Wukong, and Neptune Vasilias," I said, reading the details carefully to the rest of my team.

"That sounds like the right mission," Asriel said, hesitation plain in his voice.

I motioned for him to hand me his scroll, as only the team's leader could sign a team up for missions.

"What have we here?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

"Headmaster Ozpin?" I said, startled by his sudden appearance.

"A team of five first-year students at Beacon, attempting a mission set for second-years? Not to mention, it's a very iffy mission. 'possible location of a notorious crime syndicate.' Sounds a bit too dangerous for a group of first-years, no?"

"Not for us!" Chara said defiantly.

"I have the strangest feeling that even if I don't let you go, you'll find your way there anyway. Is that right?"

"well, that was the plan. yeah, we were going to do that," Sans said casually.

"My case in point, instead of _breaking the rules_ to bring the enemy down, why don't we just... _bend_ them a little," Ozpin said, changing the mission type from second-year to first-year.

"Thanks Professor!" Asriel said, his face lighting up with gratitude.

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when you've stopped those criminals. Besides, I've heard from other sources in that area that there might be areas where the ground is weak. There have been several holes in the roads, but the most peculiar thing about the holes is that they lead to some sort of cave system. I suggest that, after a day of searching above ground, you move to those caves. It seems to be the most inconspicuous place to hide a criminal operation."

"I wonder who we're going to get to go with on this mission," Asriel wondered aloud as we walked out to the courtyard.

"Move along, boys and girls! Get ready! Your mission starts in two days time! I suggest you train up and repair your weapons, whatever they may be! We'll be hunting Grimm as well as criminals!" I heard our History professor, Doctor Oobleck, shout to us, zipping to and from a small bullhead, moving supplies into it quicker than most of us could process.

"Two days?" Chara groaned, so desperately wanting to kill something.

"i ain't complaining. that'll give me time to catch up on sleeping...or maybe...frisk, come with me. i want you to try something. we're taking a shortcut," Sans said to me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me through a wormhole.

* * *

"Sans? What are we doing in the sparring arena?"

"is it really not obvious, kiddo? fight me!"

"Sans, you of all people should know I don't fight."

"not like that. i mean to see whether or not we can get you to do the file thing again."

"Fine. But only that, so please tell me you have a way to defend yourself."

I looked over to Sans, and saw that he was dressed in the outfit of a hockey goalie.

"may not look it, but these things are bullet-proof. guaranteed to stop the fastest and deadliest of shots."

"Good to know."

* * *

 **(Song That Might Play If You Fight Sans)**

* * *

 ***Sans approaches!**

"come on, kiddo. show me what you've got."

 ***You have earned a new section in your FIGHT interface!**

 ***Fight**

 ***Act**

 ***Item**

 ***Mercy**

 ***NEW SECTION: Spell**

 ***Spell section offers several attacks that are relevant to or are from the monster, human or creature you are fighting, and can attack the body or the soul, depending on the caster of the SPELL.**

 ***Sans attacks!**

 ***Actually, he just kinda talks to you.**

"kiddo? you gonna do something, or is this gonna end up like the geno timelines?"

 ***You've taken damage! Apparently...you've lost 0 HP but you feel like you shouldn't be rude, so you act hurt.**

 ***SPELL**

"What do we have here?" I asked out loud.

 ***Bone**

 ***Bigger Bone**

 ***Gaster Blaster**

 ***Blue Attack**

"Hey, Sans?" I said, trying to get his attention, as he had almost dozed off.

"huh?"

"Are you ready for **my** _special attack?_ "

"what?"

 ***Blue Attack**

 ***Sans rises off of the ground slightly, and is spinning aimlessly for a moment, before you fully gain control over his gravity. Before long, the hockey pads are doing their job, and Sans is thoroughly cushioned as he is thrown about the room with reckless abandon.** **You set him down gently on his feet after having your fun and end your turn, sparing Sans and ending the fight.**

* * *

"not bad, kiddo. you picked up my blue attack. how'd you do it?"

 ***Do you tell Sans about the SPELL button?**

 ***Yes**

"I got this new button on the interface that lets me kind of...steal attacks from the person I'm fighting and use those attacks against them."

"that must be what the file was. seeing that myself was kinda terrifying. now i know how chara felt during the variations of the geno timelines. i'll see you tomorrow. for now, i'm gonna head to bed."

"Bed? It's like, Midday!"

"that's past my bedtime, frisk. you should know that."

* * *

"Frisk Dreemurr, to see Ruby Rose?" I said to the nurse at the door to Beacon's hospital.

"Of course. I'll just tell her you're here to see her."

I followed the nurse and waited until she came back from Ruby's room to enter and take a seat. Ruby looked...strange. Like she wasn't herself.

"Ruby? Hey, Ruby, it's me, Frisk. Can you hear me?"

She simply sat there, staring at the glass of water on her nightstand.

"RUBY!"

"Gah! Frisk! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know you can be absolutely captivated by the sight of a glass of water."

"I was spacing out, and I just happened to be looking at a cup of water! I'm not _that_ easily entertained...by the way, your shoes are looking _particularly_ shiny today."

"I rest my case. On to other news, we found the mission and we've been officially signed up, thanks to some help from Headmaster Ozpin. We're set to go on the mission in two days, and we're going to be accompanied by Dr. Oobleck, lest anything go wrong."

"English?"

"We have your mission and we're going on it in two days, and the hunter that's going with us is Dr. Oobleck."

"Oh no...well, all I can say is "good luck."

"I know I'll need it. I'll come visit again after we're back if you aren't out of the hospital by then."

"Thanks. Say, Frisk..." Ruby started, trailing off.

"Yeah?"

"Ah, it's nothing...Just...bring me back something shiny, okay?"

"Will do."

And so, I left the hospital and returned to my dorm to find Papyrus with a knapsack on his back, bursting with spaghetti, Chara flipping his knife playfully in his hands, Sans sleeping peacefully, and Asriel observing intently as Thundersnail made his fourteenth tank-circumnavigation of the day.

I packed a change of clothes, the picture of my group of friends before my collapse, a small novel for light reading, and my trusty stick. Me and that stick have been through quite a lot. It saved me more times than I can count.

* * *

 ***ENTRY NUMBER 22:**

 ***DAY 4,380 IN THE VOID.**

 ***THIS TIMELINE HOLDS PROMISE.**

 ***PERHAPS...SOON...I WILL BE FREE FROM THIS PRISON.**

 ***FRISK SEEMS TO BE TAKING A LIKING TO THIS TIMELINE.**

 ***THEIR CONTINUED GOOD FORTUNE CAN ONLY BRING INEVITABLE PAIN.**

 ***THAT PAIN WILL MAKE HER SINK DEEPER. DEEPER INTO THE DARKNESS.**

 ***DEEP.**

 ***DARK.**

 ***DARKER.**

 ***YET DARKER.**

 ***I MISS YOU...MY BOYS.**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hey, guys...so what's up? Just saying, I just happened across this one Undertale/RWBY story that I have taken a liking to, and I really recommend you check it out. It's called "Another Chance" written by Kagenobaka. The basic plot is that Sans dies in a Genocide Run Timeline, meets Summer Rose in some sort of void, and she strikes a deal with him: If Sans watches over and protects Ruby and Yang while living his life as a normal person from Remnant (and yes, that includes going to Beacon with them), Summer will take his place in Undertale and she will have to watch Frisk go through the resets as they do in the normal timelines.**

 **It's a good read, and the chapters are a good length for the amount of plot they convey in them. It's independent enough not to be just an insertion of Undertale characters into the RWBY canon, and it's strange enough that the idea just might work.**

 **I must say, I love the way things are going, and it looks like things are starting to pick up in speed on Summer's part of the story, what with the arrival of Frisk/Chara/Fallen Child.**

 **(TL;DR): Go read "Another Chance" by Kagenobaka. It's really good. I like it a lot.**


	14. V2 - C4 - Mission START

**A/N:** **Hey, everybody, it's Pyg. I'll just be making my usual rounds today on the author's note, but there is one thing that I wanted to talk about. It's a bit long so it'll be at the bottom of the chapter.**

 **Please enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

 ***The hum of the Bullhead's engine makes the ship shake slightly. You sit in the cold, metal behemoth, shuddering as you wait to reach Mountain Glenn. Your team sitting around you are all quiet, save for the professor, Doctor Oobleck, who is chattering animatedly to the pilot. You are filled with Anticipation.**

"Okay, students! It's time to leave!" Oobleck said, turning to us and pointing at the door.

"How? I don't see a landing zone," said Asriel.

"Easy! We're jumping!"

"Oh. How did I know?" Asriel muttered before he jumped out.

Papyrus jumped after him, "Nyeh-ing" all the way down.

Chara simply walked out the door and let gravity do its work.

Sans was nowhere to be seen. I looked to the ground, and sure enough he was already there.

"No time like the present, I guess," I said, taking a running start and jumping out into a nosedive.

When we had all reached the ground, Dr. Oobleck took immediate control, zipping around, planning out how we would search for this hidden base.

"Asriel!"

"Y-yes, sir?" he responded, caught off guard.

"You are the leader of this team, yes?"

"Yes?"

"Then you should know how we'll be going about this search, correct?"

"Yes?" secretly hoping he would explain it, Asriel just decided to agree with him.

"Good! Then, as you already know, I will explain it to your teammates. Everyone! Gather round! If there is a criminal base in this town, we'll need to keep an eye out for high concentrations of Grimm. The more Grimm there are in the middle of a street or surrounding a building, the more likely it is that we have found our criminals. Today, we will be searching above ground. Tomorrow, if we haven't found it, we will search the underground caverns."

We wandered through the streets, scanning the buildings and sidewalks for Grimm, until we came across a very specific patch of cracked pavement where there was a pack of Beowulves.

"That must be it. Prepare for a fight, students," Oobleck said to us, pushing up his glasses.

 ***What will you do?**

 ***Use SPELL to fight, as the magic can be cast upon the body, as well as the soul.**

 ***OR use physical attacks to fight, as the Beowulves have no soul, and will attack out of turn.**

I put up my fists and got ready to fight. The Grimm don't fight fair, so I can't defend myself through normal means.

I looked around at the Beowulves encircling us. There were twenty, all with claws out and teeth grating as they snarled with a sinister look in their glowing, soulless eyes.

 _What gives these things life if they don't have souls?_ I thought. _Maybe they're feeding off of something. Some...higher being._

"Frisk!" Dr. Oobleck said, jumping to a vantage point so as to observe our fight.

"I have a question," he continued, "What made you want to become a Huntress?"

"Well," I started, throwing a charging Beowulf over my back and cringing as it yelped in pain, the life leaving its eyes, "I'm a problem solver by nature, so this sort of job lets me help a lot of people. Helping people is basically my dream job."

"Hmm...interesting," Oobleck said, writing furiously in a notepad and then jumping off to someone else.

"Chara! I have the same question for you!"

"I decided to become a Hunter because I get to kill things for a living. I don't know if you've heard, but that's kind of a hobby of mine."

"..."

After a strange moment of silence, Oobleck coughed lightly, and moved on without a word, scratching out words with a shaking hand.

"Sans? Your past is shrouded in mystery. If you don't mind, I would ask you of your motivation."

"i fight to forget. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago. what's the point in remembering what i could have gone back to?"

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Asriel, you're one of our star pupils. Surely you have a good reason to pursue such a dangerous path?"

"Honestly, doc, I may only look seventeen, but...I have several lifetimes of experience. With those several lifetimes of experience come several lifetimes of bad mistakes. I became a Hunter because...putting it in simple terms, my Karmic bank account is pretty far in the red. I do this to atone for something."

"Troubling indeed. Lastly, we have Papyrus. Old boy, tell me. How did you happen to get here?"

"I CHOSE TO DO THIS BECAUSE IT MEANS SOMETHING. I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT MEANS, BUT I KNOW IT MEANS SOMETHING."

"Er...you're...absolutely sure that's why?"

"YES."

Oobleck smiled, his eyes sparkling as he watched us take down wave after wave of the Beowulves, the rest of the team doing most of the work. After the fighting died down, we searched the area, finding nothing but finished cigars as hints. Roman Torchwick was definitely here. Here...but where?

"Sans, can you lay out four sleeping bags? We'll make the inside of this building our base for tonight," Asriel said, turning to me, "Frisk, you'll be outside on watch for anything suspicious. Especially keep an eye out for Torchwick."

"Can do, Azz."

"Good. Everyone else is gonna get sleep. Phone in on your Scroll if you find anything suspicious, or if it's time to switch our Nightwatch shift. We'll cycle turns every four hours."

* * *

"A beautiful night, no?"

"Doctor Oobleck?"

"Well? Isn't it?"

"I guess, why?"

...

"Your friends are a strange bunch, Frisk..."

"Yeah...but they're my strange bunch."

"Keep up your spirits. Nothing can break you if you don't let it happen. Remember that."

"Thanks, doctor. I will."

"My pleasure. Just be sure to keep your eye out for now. We wouldn't want to disappoint your team leader, would we?"

As he said that, I looked out of the window I watched the surroundings from, and spotted a white coat. Taking out a pair of binoculars Oobleck gave me, I looked for the white coat again. It was only about a block away from our building. Leaving the building and taking my scroll, I searched for it again. Not too long after, I found it again. It was Roman, sneaking around the city, cane in his hand and cigar in his mouth. I followed from a distance, ducking into alleyways from time to time as he looked back to see if anyone was following him.

After a few more blocks, he took out a Scroll and called someone.

"Cinder? Hello? You there? Oh, hey...yeah...what? The mission? Yeah...about that, there's been a slight change...huh? Right, right. About those caves you told us about? I don't remember the part where you said there was an entire city full of monsters in there...Yeah, I was surprised too when I first saw them. They told us if we could get the train running and blow up what was blocking them inside, they would reward us with whatever we wanted...Loyalty? That's not a bad idea. We could kill two birds with one stone. Recruits _and_ Dust. Wait...What if those pesky hunters get involved! They have the Prince of Monsters with them! If he even _enters the town_ , our whole plan is screwed! Fine. I'll report back tomorrow."

He stood there for a while, and then started walking somewhere. I sent a message to Asriel to get him up for his Nightwatch, and to tell him that I would be out for a while. I followed Torchwick to a cave at the edge of the city. He walked onto a small platform in a hole in the cave. The platform was slowly drawn down, and then brought back up, as the pulley holding it up did its work. Immediately, I called Asriel.

"Azz!"

"What?" he responded groggily.

"There's an underground monster city in this place. Roman Torchwick was out here, and I eavesdropped on a phone call he made to his boss, who's named Cinder. I couldn't hear what Cinder was saying but Roman made it pretty clear that if we get involved, things are going to get complicated for them. Especially if you come into town. Tomorrow we'll check it out."

"Are you sure we can't just go in there now?" he said, this time much more awake.

"There wouldn't be enough monsters around. The city, like any other, would come alive in the daytime, right?"

"Right. So that's when we come down, storm in on the criminals, capture them, and then use their train not only to free the monsters, but also to get a fast track back to Vale so we can turn them in to the authorities. So we should be doing this...when the Professor wakes us?"

"Yes. When the _Doctor_ wakes us. He's very touchy about that."

"Right. _Doctor._ Sorry."

* * *

 **So I have an announcement to make.**

 **The story that was the continuation of the last epilogue chapter from The War for a Broken Heart was named "The Silver Thorns of the Bloody Rose."**

 **The Silver Thorns of the Bloody Rose will no longer be continuing. It is on permanent Hiatus.**

 **But there is lemonade that's coming from these lemons. Anyone who wants to try and continue the story can do so. It's been a long time since I thought about that story, and I feel like I wouldn't do as good as I would have if I had continued writing it, even though it has less views than the 3 chapter Metal Gear story.**

 **If you plan on writing a story to continue the adventures of the characters from The Silver Thorns of the Bloody Rose, then please PM me about it before you do it. I want to read the stories that people are writing about them.**

 **Don't worry about our Metal Gear story. We're going to come back to that eventually.**

 **TL;DR - The Silver Thorns of the Bloody Rose is not going to happen anymore, but pretty much anyone can write what could have happened as long as you message me about it so I can read it. Also, Metal Gear is still going to happen, so just be patient.**


	15. V2 - C5 - Finale

**A/N:** **So yeah. Just another announcement. I have two ideas.**

 **1) A gritty, detective story, whose main character will remain unnamed until the story is released. (NOTE: Story will be a modern day AU of RWBY)**

 **2) A crossover of Gravity Falls and Undertale or a crossover of Gravity Falls and RWBY. (Not sure which one to do just yet. Some friends say Undertale, some say RWBY.)**

 **I would appreciate it if you were to tell me which you prefer in the reviews you write.**

 **This is going to be the finale chapter for Volume Two, which means we'll get to the (not so) fun part of the story! THE THIRD VOLUME! SO MUCH STUFF HAPPENS AND I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE IT!**

* * *

 _FWEEEEET!_

"Good morning Team! It is time we set out! I've heard from Frisk and Asriel that we have some investigating to do!"

There was Doctor Oobleck, and that was my cue to lead us to the other monsters underground.

"five more minutes," said Sans, still half asleep in his sleeping bag.

"SANS, NOW IS NOT THE TIME! WE HAVE A MISSION TO COMPLETE! BESIDES, WE GET TO MEET NEW MONSTERS! ISN'T THAT NEATO?" Papyrus yelled to Sans, already running out of the building.

"Chara, we have to go. There are more Grimm on the way to where we're going," I said, knowing he would get up in the blink of an eye if it meant he could kill something without consequences. I'll never understand him.

"Alright, people. Today, we're heading underground to search for our targets. But we won't be digging or blowing things up. We'll be taking an elevator. An elevator our targets left in a cave that the monsters can't reach," Asriel said, "Thanks to Frisk's keen observation last night, she was able to find and track Roman Torchwick, as well as eavesdrop on a phone call he made to his boss, whose name appears to be 'Cinder.' Or, at least, that's what we have so far on a possible codename."

"That's right. And from that phone call, I gathered that there's monsters under this city, and that they promised anything to these criminals if they can remove the rubble that's keeping the monsters in the underground. But here's the catch. If Asriel and our group were to show up in town, their entire plan is at serious risk. So what do you guys say?" I said, getting ready to leave.

"I say...let's go put out this Torch's fire," Chara said, menacingly sharpening his knife.

* * *

The elevator creaked, as Asriel and I shifted ever-so-slightly on it. We had decided to come to the monsters first, as we were probably our best shot for a good first impression.

When we walked in from off of the elevator, we were met with a sight that words can't describe so easily.

It was...calm and familiar, yet...strangely different, and I couldn't put my finger on why.

We had walked into a city, bustling with monsters of all shapes and sizes, with so many unique traits. Someone should really write something explaining all these things. I'll have to keep that in mind.

We heard murmurs from the crowd as we strolled through the busy street and towards the more important looking building. We entered and requested an audience with the leader, which was immediately fulfilled. We were led to a room in which we would find him, and the door was closed behind us.

"Hello, human. What brings you down here? Are you a hunter like the rest of those fine gentlemen?" said the leader, his back still facing us.

"Sir, while I am a huntress, or at least a huntress in training, I can assure you, those men are not hunters. Their leader, Roman Torchwick is actually an internationally wanted criminal!"

"Your accusations must hold their ground. Do you have proof?"

"Yeah, actually, we do," Asriel said, holding out a recording of the newscast that showed Mettaton's report on the robbery of the Dust shop months ago.

...

He sat in silence before responding.

"How could I have been so blind? He was acting suspicious when we met. Almost like he didn't know what was happening, and instead just playing along! I'm putting out an order for their capture!"

"Sir, that won't be necessary. As the Prince of the Monsters, and a Hunter, I'm actually already on a mission that requires his capture. I swear to you that I will capture him."

"You're the prince? Prince Asriel? Why haven't we been contacted? Have you been outside? How does it look? Is it what you thought it would be?" the leader shot off, spinning around and slamming his hands on his desk. He was a burly, large Goat-man. Possibly one of Asriel's uncles. The blonde in his fur beard was greying.

"I am the prince, you haven't been contacted because we had forgotten there were other monster kingdoms, I have been outside, but only just months ago. It's beautiful outside. It's everything I thought it would be and more."

"How I long to see the day when all of our people can roam free up on the surface. Our magical barrier has been broken, but over the years, nature has formed a barrier of its own. One of rocks and rubble."

"I have an idea," I said, "but we're going to need to get the rest of our team down here."

"Agreed. Let's get to work figuring out what's going on with Torchwick before we give them an 'okay' to head down," Asriel said, looking to the leader for some help.

"If you intend on finding that scum, he is in the old train yard near the cave's exit, which is blocked off by rubble. I can provide weapons or gear to take with you. Anything to get even with that slimy crook," the leader said, holding out his hands for both of us to shake them.

The scene that followed was not a pleasant one.

Torchwick was running from one side of the train yard to the other, barking orders like a madman.

He smacked, punched and beat his workers down. His cane hadn't seen so much use in years.

"We have to stop him," Asriel said, anger in his voice.

"Asriel? What's gotten into you?"

"He's using the faunus as slaves to do his work for him."

I saw a look in his eye. He looked to Roman, eyes burning with a passionate flame of hatred.

"Asriel, do you remember the day at the docks?"

"When Torchwick tried to steal a Schnee Company shipping crate full of Dust?"

"It wasn't just faunus he used. Do you remember those guys in the purple robes? The ones with hoods over their heads?"

"They were monsters. Part of a branch-off of the White Fang."

I could see something happening to him...his fingers were...turning green?

"I see some of those guys. They're setting up bombs in the train cars. They look untrained to handle that kind of work."

"He doesn't even _care_ if they die. I'll _kill that bastard!"_ Asriel said, dashing from his hiding spot.

"Asriel?"

But Asriel was already right in front of Roman. The green I had seen wasn't grass stains or some food he'd missed. He was growing vines.

* * *

"I'm really sorry about this, big guy, but...who are you again? I'm just _terrible_ with names."

" _Howdy! I'm Asriel. Asriel Dreemurr!"_

"Well, buddy, you're lucky I'm in a good mood today. Otherwise, I might have had to punish you for trespassing."

" _Golly, now that wouldn't be fun! Say, you look kinda confused. You don't really know how things work down here, do you?"_

"What're you getting at, kid?"

" _Well, I guess I'll just have to show you the rules."_

 ***Battle Start!**

 _*"That is your SOUL. The very_ culmination _of your being."_

 _*"Your SOUL is pretty strong...You must have lots of LV!"_

 _*"What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE of course!"_

 _*"Down here, LOVE is shared in many ways. Pellets, food, hugs...battles to the death..."_

"Hang on a second, what?" Torchwick interrupted.

 _*"Anyway, you seem to have a lot of LOVE already, but it wouldn't hurt to have more, right?"_

"Uhhh..."

 _*"Yeah! Just as I thought! Here! Grab as many Friendliness Pellets as you can!"_

 ***Asriel Attacks!**

 ***Torchwick took damage! (HP Left: 1/184)**

"What the hell? What were those?"

 _*"YOU IDIOT! YOU HURT AND TORTURE THESE POOR PEOPLE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM, AND YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST BOW AT YOUR FEET? YOU DISGUST ME! DIE!"_

 ***Torchwick is encircled in pellets, unable to escape.**

Torchwick started to panic, and was almost ready to give up when I dove in, tackling Asriel, dispersing the pellets, and holding him down.

"CHARA, SANS, PAPYRUS! WE HAVE HIM! COME GET HIM!" I yelled.

All three had jumped from the buildings surrounding the train yard, the leader of this settlement's monsters walking calmly to the fight, alongside Doctor Oobleck.

"NOT TO FEAR, HUMAN! I HAVE COME PREPARED! Now where did I put those handcuffs?" Papyrus said, mumbling the last part, searching his bag desperately.

"What makes you think that I can't just run?" Roman said, ready to leave.

"i'm here. that's why you can't _just run._ "

Roman turned around to see Sans, his eye glowing, holding Roman where he was.

"NYEH HEH HEH! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE DEVIOUS TEAM OF SKELE-BROS!" Papyrus yelled, finally pulling out the handcuffs and cuffing Roman.

"I'll be taking _this_ ," Chara said, swiping Roman's cane, marveling at the destruction he could cause with it.

"Bravo, good hunters! Bravo! Such a delight seeing _real_ hunters at work!" said the leader, clapping sincerely as he walked to Roman, Dr. Oobleck in tow.

 _Was this guy seriously a leader? He mistook an international criminal and his legion of clearly equally evil goons for hunters that would help them escape!_ I thought, looking at his delighted expression.

"Oh, no! I've been captured! And I would have gotten away with it too...if it wasn't for you meddling kids, and your demon...goat...thing," Roman said mockingly, as if reading lines from a script.

"Well? What are you waiting for? An invitation? HELP ME!" Roman shouted to his minions, who were all standing around, minding their own business.

"WE DON'T APPRECIATE YOUR TREATMENT!" one of the henchmen shouted.

"YEAH! OUR DEAL'S OFF, TORCHWICK! YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!"

"SCREW YOU!"

Various other insults and angry comments were directed to him, and some even started throwing things at him, like rocks, ammo clips, and the tools given to the monsters that were setting up the bombs.

"So, Roman. It's been a while," said Dr. Oobleck, visually very pleased with the situation at hand.

"Hey, Bart. How's the 'coffee' treatin' ya?" Torchwick said, disdain cleary lacing his tone.

"I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I ONLY DRINK THE PUREST OF ROCKET FUEL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Oobleck said, starting to turn red.

"Right, sorry. How's the rocket fuel treatin' ya?"

"It's actually quite nice. It does wonders for me, what with my workload. Although, the taste does degrade after a while. I might have to switch to something new soon."

"Oh, really? Say, how's teaching been going for you? I've heard that the kids are a bit of a handful...kinda troublesome to big secret underground criminal organizations with lots of mini subdivisions and dangerous criminal masterminds. Is that true?"

"i wouldn't be getting too comfy, buddy. remember? MTT news released a statement about your punishment, should you be captured and brought to the authorities," Sans said, his grin spreading as a realization dawned on Roman.

"Oh no," he said shortly, looking incredibly scared as he was walked back to the outside.

"COME WITH ME, EVERYONE! IT IS TIME TO JOURNEY TO THE SURFACE!" Papyrus yelled to the citizens, as well as the henchmen.

As they set off, heading to the elevator at the back end of the cave-city, there were three people left in the train yard: Me, Asriel, and Chara.

"Asriel...what just happened?" Chara said, sounding strangely worried.

"I...He...I don't know."

"I saw vines coming from somewhere. Something's up," I said.

"Remember when you first met back up with me when you first woke up? I was Flowey when you saw me. I had _no soul_. When you offered to bring me back, you gave me _half_ of a soul. I guess that little demon plant is still in there somewhere."

"Oh. Well can we fix that?"

"The power of half of a human soul in me was enough to bring me back with minimal amounts of Flowey getting out, but if we were to get another half, I could eliminate Flowey completely. Or at the very least, be able to control him."

"Can we worry about that later? We need to get these monsters into society, and Torchwick in jail," Chara said, swinging Torchwick's cane in his hand.

"Yeah. Let's get outta here. I'm feeling pretty tired. I'd like nothing more right now than to just go home and sleep," Asriel said, swaying precariously on the spot.

"We're going to go as soon as Chara gives me that dangerous weapon, so it is handled with the proper care," I said, holding my hand out expectantly.

* * *

 ***The smell of the hospital smells vague, but clean...like disinfectant wipes and air freshener. You like that smell. After a strange day full of adventure, it's good to return to where your adventure all began to unwind and visit your friend. You are filled with Determination.**

"Frisk Dreemurr, to see Ruby Rose?"

"Right this way, please," a nurse said, directing me to the room.

As I stepped in, closing the door behind me, I looked at Ruby. She was sitting patiently, her back propped up by a mountain of pillows.

"Hey, Ruby."

"Hi, Frisk!"

"How're your injuries?"

"They're getting along pretty well. My feet are still healing, but I was encouraged not to use my arms for a while, so I'm pretty much just sitting here, slowly becoming a vegetable."

"Well it's a good thing you're a vegetable with friends."

"Yeah. Speaking of, is everyone back yet?"

"Yup. And I didn't forget what you asked."

"What?"

"Remember? You said 'bring me back something shiny.' So that's what I did."

I held out Roman's cane.

"Frisk, this is...it's"

"Roman Torchwick's cane. We caught him."

"It's so _shiny_ ," she said, marveling at the way it reflected the bright lights of the hospital.

"I knew you'd like it."

"So did anything else happen while you were out?"

"Some weird thing happened to Asriel where his...demon...soulless flower part of him came out during a fight with Torchwick, and I had to tackle him to the ground to stop him from killing someone."

"Oh. Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, it's just...he gave us a real scare."

"Okay. Well, just...tell me if anything's wrong."

"I will. You don't mind if I hang around a bit longer, do you?"

"No, not at all. By all means, stay here. I won't be bothered. I'm just gonna turn on the TV."

* * *

"Breaking news, everyone! Roman Torchwick has been captured! Authorities are questioning him now, but as soon as they're done, we'll have our new GUEST STAR!" Mettaton announced, a bright neon sign reading "Guest Star!" lit up, blinking and flashing loud colors as confetti rained from above.

"Hey! Get yer grubby hands of the coat! That was tailored specially for me! HEY! GIMME MY HAT! I CAN'T BE SEEN WITHOUT MY HAT!"

"Here he comes now!"

"JUST WHAT KIND OF OPERATION ARE YOU RUNNING HERE? I DEMAND TO SEE MY LAWYER! I HAVE RIGHTS!"

"Oh, Roman, a Phoenix can't save you now! It's time for our news segment!"

"Wait, what? OOF," Roman said as a microphone was shoved roughly into his hand, pushing him back a few feet.

"Well, darling? What are you waiting for? You're on TV! Report on something!"

"Uhh...well...I'm Roman Torchwick...I guess I've been caught...uhh...here's the weather?"

"Well done, darling! Although, I'd be running to the next segment too if I were him, because that microphone is actually...A BOMB!"

"A WHAT?"

"You heard me, Roman. Lots of things in the room you are in right now are bombs. The microphone, a cardboard box, a bowling ball, a glass of milk, and an especially annoying, small, white dog. If you can't disarm these bombs within the time limit, you'll _diiiiiiie_. So I would be getting to more defusing and a little less looking fabulous. By the way, that hair flip makes you look _gorgeous_."

"Thank you! Not many people understand my genius style!"

"Ah-ah-aaaaah! Keep talking, and you'll exploooooode! I'd get to work if I were you, which I'm not, because I'm Mettaton! Beautiful, fabulous and eloquent entertainment reality TV star!"


	16. V3 - C1 - The Vytal Festival

**A/N:**

 **Hey, everyone! And welcome to Volume three of this Four-Volume series of stories. Thanks for sticking around for so long. This is my most reviewed, most viewed, and most followed and favorited story on this site. It has the most amount of words out of all of my stories. Close to 40,000 words. Holy Jumping Jackrabbit on a Jellyfish.**

 **Anyway...Thank you all so much. I couldn't possibly think that I would keep doing this if my readers didn't help me through all of this. Seriously. From the bottom of my heart, you guys are the best.**

 **What am I talking for? You're all here for a story, right? Not to read this boring moron's ramblings while they sit at their desk and BS their way to a page on TVTropes (seriously though, that would be, like, a dream for me. I love that site).**

 **As always, guys...(this is gonna be my new thing, okay?)**

 **Keep the Pyg-Pen clean.**

* * *

 ** _SUPER IMPORTANT NOTICE AND STUFF: From now on, this story will be written in the third person perspective...Seeing as how this is a start of a new volume in the story, I thought it was the perfect time. Starting this last chapter just wouldn't be right._**

* * *

"Ruby."

 _ ***They will never truly accept you, Ruby.**_

"Hey, Ruby, it's time to get up."

 _ ***Let me in, Ruby. Let me take control.**_

"Come on! Ruby! The Vytal Festival starts today!"

 _ ***They will all turn their back on you. I have seen it.**_

"Oh, for the love of- RUBY! GET UP!"

 _ ***You may have held out today, but I will have what I wish. Eventually. I will return. I will stake your precious Silver Eyes on it. For now, it is time you proved your worth in the waking world. Goodbye. I must see to further experimentation.**_

She had woken up to the sound of someone pulling the blankets off of her bed.

"GET. UP!" she heard

"What? I'm awake...I'm...uhhh...five more minutes?" She slurred.

"Not happening. I've heard of heavy sleepers, but this is too much. Pretty much nothing but the end of the world can wake you!" the person said disapprovingly.

"Anyway, I wanted to come around and just say that the doctors didn't want you on your feet until later today, when they feel like you've gotten the right amount of rest. If they held you any later, you would've missed your chance to compete in the tournament!" they continued.

"Wait...I usually go somewhere today."

"Yeah...about that, the doctors made me come in here with a wheelchair, and told me to go with you if you were to go anywhere. They'll allow you to go out, but said to be back by noon. Then they'll officially discharge you from the hospital."

Ruby turned over in her bed to see Frisk at her bedside, with a wheelchair in front of her.

"Come on. I got you," Frisk said, picking Ruby up from her bed, and placing her carefully in the wheelchair.

"So...I've been thinking about that thing you said about Sans," Ruby said.

Frisk froze before she could start pushing Ruby out of the room.

"And...what did you think about?" she asked.

"Well, if what you said about Sans and your ability is true, then...maybe...if you found someone who knows this 'mystery man,' you could find out who he is, and then find him using your files!"

"Do you have an idea as to who he could be?"

"Not in the slightest!"

"Great start, then. Come on. Let's get you to that thing you were going to do. What was it again? The people here didn't really tell me what it was."

"I'm going to visit my mother's grave."

* * *

 ***A sadness in her eyes, you hear her speak, but can't discern words. Your mind is somewhere else. A solemn goodbye and a gentle pat on the forearm bring you back to reality. A melancholic smile adorning her face as she looks up at you, she says, "Okay. Let's go back now." You are filled with Determination.**

"Alright, I guess you're free to go now," Frisk said, coming out of the building with Ruby hanging around her shoulders, not used to walking yet.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled, running to her sister, bear-hugging her.

"We were worried we'd be disqualified. It's good to have you back," Blake said, much calmer than Yang.

"Don't _ever_ do something like that again...At least, not without telling us first," Weiss said, scolding her leader.

"Don't worry, guys, I'm fine! Besides, now we can get to enjoying the fairgrounds before the tournament's first match starts!" Ruby strained, her bones audibly cracking under the pressure of the hug.

Yang released her grip quickly, muttering something along the lines of an apology worriedly.

* * *

Frisk had decided to meet with her team and travel the fairgrounds with them. It didn't take long, but they had wandered into a section almost entirely populated by booths manned by monster-folk.

They walked to a booth draped in purple, and rang a small bell.

"Ahuhuhu! Customers! Coming, darlings!" someone said from behind a curtain.

"Welcome to the spider bake sale! All proceeds go to real...Frisk?" said a spider-lady, pulling a tray of pastries from behind the curtain to greet them.

"In the flesh! Muffet! What are you doing here? I mean, I know, business, but how weird is it, seeing you here? The years have been kind to you!"

"Ahuhuhu! Thank you, dearie. I believe it has been nine years. How nice to see you! Have some cider. I've decided to mark down the prices. Cider! 10 Lien a gallon! Donuts! 20 Lien per dozen!" Muffet said, overjoyed at the reunion.

"Thank _you_! Say, is anyone else I know here?"

"There's Mettaton and his cousin, Napstablook. They are currently at their own booth together. They sell Napstablook's songs and DVDs of Mettaton's show. It's in its thirty-second season!"

"Thank you. I'll come back soon! Guys, come on."

"BUT OF COURSE, HUMAN! I SHALL FOLLOW!" Papyrus shouted.

"why not. got nothin' else to do," Sans mumbled.

"UUUUUGH, why?" Chara said, fed up with wasting time before the fight.

"Chara, calm down and enjoy this. It's fun once you start to let it be fun. Trust me," Asriel said, pulling Chara by his sweater collar.

"Darling! It's been so long! Where has your _fabulous_ little face been?" Mettaton said as Frisk approached the booth.

"It's been here! How has my favorite Killer Robot been these past nine years?"

"I've been wonderful! Is...Is that who I think it is?" he said, pointing to Asriel.

"Heheh...yeah...long story, man. Sorry. Another time," Asriel responded awkwardly.

"While we're going through introductions, I'd like to introduce to you a new and _very much improved_ Napstablook!" Mettaton said, gesturing to someone standing by a cash register in the shadows.

 _Standing._

"Hello...everyone..." a metallic voice said timidly, bright blue eyes shining from the shadows like headlights.

"Well, he's more of a Napsta _bot_ now. Forget that. What can we do for you?"

"That's great, tin can. Just make sure you watch our fight. We're gonna kick some major ASS," Chara butt in, putting his hand on the counter and looking threateningly at Mettaton.

"L-Look, Chara. I've taken a...a lot of crap from you for a long time, and I'm sick of watching you p-push people around! S-Stop threatening my cousin!" said Napstabot, his blue eyes flashing a dangerous red, his hands turning into whirring chainsaw blades.

"It's...It's alright, Blooky. I can take him," Mettaton said, his cousin calming down immediately, facing back to the register, a look of determination in his eyes, turning them a powerful yellow. The color of soul representing Justice.

"We'll be sure to watch. As long as you never do that again," Napstabot said, retribution flooding his tone.

"napsy, takin' a stand. never thought i'd see the day," Sans said, his eye burning, looking at Chara with an eager expression.

"Would all students participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament please come to the stadium. The matchmaking process will begin shortly."

* * *

"WELCOME, VISITORS AND LOCALS, TO THE VYTAL FESTIVAL!" said Professor Port, handing the mic off to his co-host.

"Yes, a very warm welcome indeed, Peter. Today, the first matches will be held. Four-versus-Four team matches. I hope everyone is ready for a day of excitement!" Doctor Oobleck said, continuing where his colleague left off.

"As we have explained, the selection process is completely random, and each match, the environments will change to give each team an equal chance at winning," Port said, simplifying the tournament's concepts."

"Speaking of, the first match's selection process has just begun! In just a moment, we'll be witnessing the first match of the tournament! Don't leave your seats, people!" Oobleck continued, his glasses jostling as he shook in anticipation.

The holographic display started to hum, selecting one team, and selecting another.

"Five against Four! Unheard of!" Port said.

"Relax, old friend. The rule of the tournament states that if a team has more members than the tournament allows, then one or more members will not participate, until the number of participants is equal," Oobleck explained.

"I volunteer to sit out. I'm not one for fighting. I'll be cheering for you guys. Look for me in the crowd," Frisk said, heading to a seat close to the teams of her friends.

"Cool. Finally. I've been waiting for this," Chara said, his knife flashing in his pocket, catching the rays of the sunlight.

"Chara, remember. _Incapacitate._ Don't _kill,_ " Asriel said, warning Chara.

Each team got ready to fight, staring each other down...Well, one team got ready. Asriel, Chara, Sans and Papyrus merely stood there, staring blankly in different directions. The other team slowly started laughing.

Asriel quickly shifted into his God of Hyperdeath state. Chara pulled out his knife, his eyes flashing red. Sans' eye burst into a blue flame, his left hand glowing as he slowly pulled it from his pocket.

Papyrus puffed out his chest triumphantly and shouted about his greatness.

Their opponents were quickly shocked back to awareness, and prepared themselves for a battle.

"Looks like an interesting match, folks. We're starting strong this year!" Port said, jumping giddily in his seat.

Not long after, the fighting started. The opposition opting for a defensive strategy.

Asriel shot stars and fireballs at their defense, breaking it quickly.

Chara charged in, brandishing his knife, swinging at anything within his range.

Sans stood back, waiting for a good time to strike.

Papyrus threw bones in all directions, simply hoping to hit something.

The students couldn't take much more, as their Aura was not helping to defend them. In fact, the magic of the stars, the knife's blade, and the bones seemed to sap them of their Aura, quickly draining their power, and sending three of the four into the disqualification zone within a minute.

Asriel, Chara and Papyrus let up their attack immediately, standing by while Sans slowly walked close to the last remaining member.

"friendship...it's really great, right? let's quit fighting."

The last member of their opponents tried to swipe at Sans with their weapon.

"welp. it was worth a shot."

A circle of dragon-like skulls formed around the student.

"geeettttttt dunked on! hey, no offense, kiddo, but try again when you've got some twenty or thirty years of experience under yer belt."

Lasers shot from the skull circle's mouths, draining their Aura slowly until it reached the disqualification mark.

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? HUMANS! I DEMAND A CHALLENGE! NOTHING LESS FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Papyrus pranced about the arena, chanting about the team's skill and greatness...though no team member got more praise than himself.

* * *

"Cinder, what're we gonna do about these guys? They're a pretty real threat," a silver haired teen whispered to the person sitting to his left.

"Easy, Mercury. We simply carry out the plan. The concept hasn't changed. Just our targets."

"So what do we do now?" said a girl one seat over.

"You should already know, Emerald. We wait, like we've been. We'll strike when they least expect it."

* * *

 **A/N:** **So, just once more: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY IS IN THIRD PERSON.**

 **With that out of the way, I've been seeing a lot of support for my Gravity Falls RWBY crossover, and I've honestly been questioning whether or not I should just write it instead of doing this stupid contest thing.**

 **Anyway, thanks again.**

 **Like I said at the top of the page, Keep the Pyg Pen Clean. Have a wonderful night.**


	17. V3 - C2 - The Maiden's Soul

**A/N:** **So...now that the Gravity Falls thing is up, and doing great, I'm pretty sure it'd be a safe bet to say that there's not going to need to be a contest.**

 **For anyone who wanted to see the Detective story, I'll tell you who the main character is: It's Qrow. To me, he feels like the perfect character for a gritty film noir or a good Commissioner Gordon to another character's Batman.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for getting this story to 50-something reviews! This is my first story to reach this milestone!**

 **NOW! Please enjoy the story, and make sure to keep the Pyg Pen clean.**

 **Hey, by the way, I know that not many people like seeing filler chapters of just retellings of RWBY episodes, So I'm going to take a bit of liberty and I'm going to skip those and head straight to the plot.**

* * *

With the matches of the day finished, the tensions were high, as two of the combatants were summoned to the Headmaster's office.

"So, why do you think we're heading to Ozpin?" Frisk asked Pyrrha, who was walking quickly with a spring in her step.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure it isn't anything _too_ bad. If anything, it's not related to the tournament," Pyrrha said, talking in an 'all-business' manner.

The two reached the elevator that led to the Headmaster's office, and signaled their arrival with the push of a button.

"Ms. Nikos, please step into the elevator alone. Ms. Dreemurr, we will call you here when it is necessary. For now, there are small, uncomfortable chairs, and uninteresting reading material for you to busy yourself with," Ozpin said, speaking to them through a small radio near the buttons for the elevator.

"Ms. Dreemurr, you may join us now," Professor Goodwitch said through the intercom.

"Okay. I'll be up in a moment."

Walking into the elevator, Frisk noticed an arrangement of buttons.

Floor 1, 2, and 3, all somewhat normally labelled, if a bit precociously fancy.

Fort Port, written in the scrawls of what was seemingly a small child, with a red note on it, saying "no girls allowed."

Super-Secret Vault of No Specific Importance.

Headmaster's Office.

And a big red button that was simply labelled, "Whatever you do, don't push this button."

Of course, the temptation was just too much to bear. Suffice to say that it was a very long elevator ride. When the elevator finally reached its originally intended destination, Goodwitch looked positively livid, Pyrrha looked confused, and Ozpin was enjoying himself, sitting at his desk wearing a warm smile and chuckling to himself.

"Frisk, how wonderful of you to join us. Please, take a seat. Did you enjoy the ride?" Ozpin said, a grin slowly forming on his face.

"Oh...Uhhh, I guess? I mean, it was a fun ride, but I think Fort Port has forever traumatized me. The big red button that said 'whatever you do, don't push this button' was pretty fun, though. You might want to send someone to clean up all the confetti in there."

"Ozpin?" Goodwitch said, a look of confusion and surprise on her face.

"Yes, Glynda?" he said, calmly sipping at his coffee.

"Is that really all that button does?"

"No."

"Then what _does_ it do?"

"It's random every time. There are 47 different functions for that button. I had one of the functions set to 'calculate the meaning of life,' but I just can't seem to ever get that function to work when I press the button. Qrow seems to get it all the time, but he never wants to tell me. I always seem to get confetti, bees, or another cup of coffee. Moving on!"

"Ms. Nikos, you have been informed of the situation, but we'll need your answer before we do anything," Glynda said, reverting to her strict demeanor.

"I will," Pyrrha said.

"Good. Then we should hurry," Ozpin said, his happy expression turning solemn in a quick second.

* * *

"Professor Ozpin, sir, I'm still kind of in the dark here. What exactly is happening?" Frisk asked, scared and intimidated by the ominous green flames that hung above them, giving everything an almost ethereal and ghostly sheen.

"Kid, you're in a bit of a situation. I know this sounds like a crapload of something you'd hear in some crazy, dark fantasy novel. Your pal here is a candidate to become a seasonal Maiden with superpowers that control the seasons. Read a book sometime. We're just asking you to come along to see if you can do something for us," said a man in a cutting, gravelly voice.

"Who are you people again?"

"Nice to meet ya, kid. I'm Qrow, this is Ozpin, that's Glynda, and the guy with the stick up his ass is Ironwood," he said, gesturing to each one in turn. The last one, Ironwood, was quite annoyed already, and only seemed to get more and more annoyed.

"So what is it you wanted me to do?"

"Ozzy-boy thinks you have something you could do to help someone. Magic? Somethin' else? Whatever it is, he thinks you can do something to...save someone important," Qrow continued, pausing to take a swig from his hip-flask.

"And here they are," Ironwood said.

A large machine was sitting in front of them, wires and tubes reaching the ceiling. In a small pod, a small girl was situated so as to be monitored.

"So...what do you want me to do?" Frisk said hesitantly.

"Easy. We want you to fix her. Part of her Aura was stolen, and with it, part of her power as a Maiden. Someone stole part of her soul."

"So you want me to fix her soul? How?"

"How? Do what you do. The floor is yours."

"But I don't know how."

"What do you mean?"

"If I can't see her soul, I won't know how to fix it."

" _Then find out how to see it,_ " Ironwood said through gritted teeth.

" _James!_ It isn't that simple. Give her space, and let her do what she can," Ozpin said, calming Frisk, and settling Ironwood.

Breathing heavily, she held her hand out to the pod, summoning her soul to manifest outward.

A small, red, heart shaped essence flew forward, glowing brightly. Half of the heart was white, outlined in red.

 ***Your heart reaches out to the Maiden. You can hear her soul faintly calling for help.**

 ***Help came to the distressed Maiden. One half of an orange heart dimly glows, flickering from her chest.**

 ***Your unending Determination feeds the broken soul energy. The orange glow begins to get brighter and brighter until it matches your soul's glow.**

 ***Once the bright light of the two souls diminishes, your eyes find the soul of the Maiden immediately. The side that was there from the start remained the same, but a new, complete other side of the soul has formed. A red half, outlined in orange.**

 ***You feel dizzy. You call your soul back to you, and notice no change in the colors. Your soul is unharmed, and the Maiden is whole again. You are filled with Determination.**

"So did she do it?" Ironwood asked, looking to Ozpin, who was monitoring the state of the Maiden's Aura.

"She was in a dangerous area throughout the entire time she was here, but after that display, her Aura is in a safe zone. It worked. Pyrrha, we aren't pressuring you to do something you don't want, but now the transfer process, if you decide to go through with it, will go much easier," Ozpin said, looking from Pyrrha to the monitor.

"I...need a moment to think this through."

"Okay. Just know that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

"Transfer process?" Frisk said, confused.

"We were planning on moving the aura from the Maiden into Pyrrha, since she was a possible candidate for being the next Fall Maiden," Ironwood said without a thought.

" _What?_ You'd kill the Maiden! She'd lose her soul!"

"And we would have a new Maiden."

"So I was just _used_ to get you your goal?"

"I wouldn't put it like that, but-"

"-But it _is_ what you did. I can't believe this. Fine, then. Do your _mad science_ and see where it gets you. I guarantee you won't end up with the results you intend. That's never how anything like this works. There's always side effects. There's always a catch. Every time, _someone might die._ So go ahead and _use someone_ you barely know to be the vessel for a world-saving power that could have _who knows what_ consequences. Go have your fun. I'm leaving. If something goes wrong, don't expect me to screw the timeline and fix _your_ problems."

* * *

"heya, kiddo. you doin' okay?" said Sans as Frisk stormed into the dorm.

"Not now, Sans. I had a lot happen to me today. I really don't want to deal with anything else right now."

"c'mon kiddo. tell me. i can guarantee you i already know how to fix it."

"Remember when Pyrrha and I were called to the headmaster's office?"

He did recall something of the sort...he couldn't really tell, though. He might have been sleeping.

"Well, Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and some other guy...Qrow, they told her something about some other thing, and then I was called up to join them, and we went down into this Vault sort of dealy...thing. To make a long story short, I fixed some dying person's soul, and they were going to take her soul and put it into Pyrrha without any tests first. They're basically pushing her into doing it, but they're putting on a farce, saying 'oh, you don't _have_ to possibly forget everything that makes you _you_ and become a completely new person _for the 'greater good.''_ I, personally, thought that it was just wrong. So I voiced my opinion, and made my way out. They tricked me into helping them."

"sounds pretty rough, buddy. tell ya what. why not just forget the whole thing and just...go do stuff at the fairgrounds? i mean, there's fights, sure, but there's also games, food, and a bunch of other stuff."

"Why not. I need _something_ to keep my mind off of this."

As Frisk and Sans walked out into the fair, they had decided to sit near Asriel and his friends, Velvet and Monster Kid.

"Asriel, can you do that magic thing for me? I think it'd make a good photo," Velvet said.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Asriel responded, summoning his stars and lasers.

"YOOOOO! THAT'S WICKED!" Monster Kid yelled, hopping up and down.

" _What are you doing!_ You could hurt someone! Az, you have to be careful!" Weiss said scornfully

"Sorry, Weiss. It's just fun to do this. Being with friends is some powerful stuff. I just don't usually get to hang out with other friends as much. I've been spending too much time cooped up in my dorm, or doing work. This festival has been a really big stress reliever for me."

"Oh. Well, in that case, you should still be careful! You might get hurt, and that wouldn't be good. Remember the last time?"

" _I thought we agreed never to talk about the closet incident,"_ Asriel said hurriedly.

"Hello, little brother! What am I hearing about closets?" Chara said, one arm around Yang, and one arm ruffling Asriel's fur.

"Ah, heheh...n-nothing, I mean, who said anything about closets am I right?" he said, looking desperately at his friends, whose expressions did not change.

"Come on. Out with it."

"Okay...I was hanging out in Team RWBY's dorm, and it was really late at night. I was tired, but I was also pretty hungry. Everyone else was fine. I got up off the floor, where we were sitting and discussing the events of the past semesters, and I walked into a closet. When they opened the door, I was sitting in a corner of a closet, eating my way through an empty can of dog food."

"What do you mean by empty?"

"I ATE THE CAN, OKAY? I ate the can."

"Wait is this that thing again?" Ruby said, walking up on the group.

"What thing?" Asriel asked.

"The can thing."

"Yes."

"That was fun."

"Can we all just go have fun in the fairgrounds?" Asriel begged.

Happily, they agreed to his plea, and the night was filled with laughter, fun, and other general nouns that apply to the connotation of a night of chaos.

Or so they thought.

Heading back into the dorm building for the night, Frisk accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh! I'm sorr-"

The person she had bumped into had black hair, orange eyes, and a uniform from a Mistralian Combat school, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but in the small contact she had made with the girl, she was able to see her soul.

One side was pure black. The other side, however, was a _very_ familiar Orange.

Not bothering to finish her apology, Frisk bolted through the door and found her way to Ozpin's office.

* * *

 ***Entry Number 23:**

 ***They do not expect my return.**

 ***I am forgotten by all.**

 ***All except two. The human Dreemurrs.**

 ***They will know when I am here.**

 ***I have found my exit.**

 ***Soon, this void will bid me goodbye.**

 ***You.**

 ***Young warrior of the silver eyes.**

 ***You shall be my savior.**

 ***When?**

 ***Perhaps I will never know.**

 ***I grow stronger by the minute.**

 ***Soon.**

 ***This day shall come.**

 ***Tomorrow is another day.**

 ***I won't be long, my boys.**


	18. V3 - C3 - Fight Night

**A/N:** **Okay, so, late last night, I was bored, right? So I decided to look up some fanfiction for RWBY, hoping to rid myself of the boredom.**

 **I stumbled across a writer named TenchiSaWaDa. His One-Shot, "The Detective" was absolutely amazing.**

 **I mean, really. This guy can** _ **write**_ **. I was in absolute** _ **awe**_ **when I finished reading the story.**

 **He does stories for Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Naruto, Harry Potter, Pokemon, D &D, RWBY, Prototype, Assassin's Creed, Percy Jackson, Bleach, Inheritance Cycle, and Code Geass.**

 **Some of his RWBY fics, including "The Detective," ship Jaune and Ruby, so whoever likes that, read "To The Socially Awkward." It'll break your heart in so many ways you won't even know where to begin when you try to piece it back together.**

 **I mean, seriously, he's a Grade-A Genius when it comes to writing. Go check his work out. It's worth it. I guarantee that.**

 **What are you still doing here? Don't waste your time here! Tenchi is waiting!**

* * *

" _Ozpin!"_

"Frisk? What happened? Is everything all right?"

Frisk stumbled through the door of Ozpin's office, scared out of her wits.

" _There was this girl! At the Festival! She did it! She stole the Maiden's Soul!"_

"Calm down, Frisk. Who did it? Who stole her soul?"

"She...She had black hair, orange eyes, and she wore a Mistralian Combat school uniform. Her hair and eyes match the girl I saw fight Ruby at the CCT."

 _How strange,_ he thought, _she's making their moves quicker than I anticipated._

As soon as he thought this, he stood and motioned to the elevator.

"I suppose you want to know why I didn't stop you from doing what you did in that Vault?"

"That's part of what went through my mind as I left, yeah."

"Pyrrha is a candidate for becoming the next Fall Maiden. Someone with immense power. Power that, in the wrong hands, could prove to be very dangerous. With the Soul of the Maiden fixed, Pyrrha could have it transferred, and we would have someone who could fight the person who stole it in the first place, if the need arose."

"But that still doesn't explain why."

"Frisk. In my lifetime, I have made more mistakes than anyone on this planet. I regret my actions in that Vault as much as that whole lifetime of mistakes."

Frisk, plainly confused, stood and walked slowly to Ozpin. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she said, "I understand. I can relate. In fact, I've been through _several_ lifetimes of mistakes. But that doesn't matter now. What does, is that we need to stop whatever it is she's planning."

" _ **Would the members of the participating teams please return to the stadium, as another randomization process is about to start,**_ " stated Professor Port over the intercom.

"It would seem you have somewhere to be. I have a feeling you won't want to miss this match."

* * *

In the stands, sat hundreds, if not, thousands of people, ready to watch the next fight, whoever it might be.

"...Oh, you should have been there! Coco and Yatsuhashi were just up against Mercury and Emerald! It was awesome! Weird, but awesome!" Frisk heard Ruby spouting.

"What's going on?" Frisk asked, approaching her friend's team.

"The doubles rounds started earlier. We still haven't gone yet. We chose Weiss and Yang to keep fighting."

"well, play your cards right, and you might be fighting me and Sans," Chara said, leaning over from his seat.

"Dude, that's impossible! We're from the same school!" Yang said, giving him a jab in the shoulder.

"Actually, it has happened before. If you read the books on the history of the schools, you'd find that there are entire chapters devoted to the history of this tournament. Students from the same combat school fighting each other has happened about five or six times," Blake said matter-of-factly.

"great job jinxing it, blake. now we're definitely going to have to fight you guys," Sans yawned.

" _ **Sans Gaster and Chara Dreemurr versus Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long! Unbelievable! This is only the seventh time this has happened in the history of this tournament!"**_ Doctor Oobleck exclaimed into his microphone.

"see what you did, blake? now i hafta do work. you're lucky i'm tired today, otherwise you'd be on the receiving end of what happened during the four-man-team round."

* * *

Sans, walking out to meet his opponents, had his hands tucked into his sweatshirt pockets, and his feet situated comfortably in a pair of fluffy pink slippers. He was almost snoring while he was awake.

Chara stumbled awkwardly next to Sans, fiddling with the knife in his hands. Eyes in all directions, in all kingdoms across the world, were staring at him. He liked combat, sure. He didn't like when it was treated like a sport. Also, knowing who he was fighting didn't exactly comfort him.

Weiss was calm. She held her hand over her weapon, readily waiting for the beginning of the match. She felt as if neither of her opponents were going to take the match seriously. Relaxing visibly, she stood casually at the side of her teammate.

Yang was smiling stupidly. She was grinning at the person standing in front of her. Chara looked positively frightened. Just like she wanted him to be. The match would be easy for her. Or so she thought.

" _ **Fighters at the ready!"**_ Oobleck said.

"Y'know, Chara, if you go easy, I'll pay for the next date," Yang said in a sing-song voice.

"Tempting. _Veeeeery_ tempting. I know you won't, but if you go easy, the next date is wherever you want to go."

"alright, lovebirds. get in gear. let's give these wonderful people a show."

"So that's a no on going easy?" Chara asked.

"Pretty much!" Yang agreed.

"Well...Then, I'll just say this. _**Sorry, Partner.**_ "

His eyes shifted from a soft, chocolate brown to a sharp, glassy, blood red.

" _ **Fighters...**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **...BEGIN!"**_

* * *

Chara jumped to Yang, a flurry of strikes raining down on her gauntlets.

"Whoa, man, I know I said no holding back, but I didn't know you could do this!" Yang shouted over the metallic clang of knife hitting bracer.

" _ **You said no holding back. I'm afraid you made your choice a looooong time ago,"**_ Chara said menacingly, his voice sounding like a combination of three other voices.

His blade turning black, dark red spots grew all over the knife's edge. Out of nowhere, several other knives materialized and flew at her.

* * *

Sans stood at the other side of the arena, patiently waiting for Weiss to do something.

"c'mon, kiddo. yer makin' me sleepy. do somethin' already."

"I'm simply waiting to see if Yang can hold her own. Then I'll attack."

"they're in the middle of a forest. i'm pretty sure we won't see them for a while."

"What are you insinuating?"

"nothing. just sayin', we should get to fighting. these people didn't come all the way across the world for nothin', ya know."

"Oh, fine."

As if from nowhere, Weiss charged Sans, stabbing at him with all she had.

"y'know, not a lot of people open with their strongest attack first."

"What?"

The Sans in front of her disappeared, and a bony finger tapped her shoulder.

"yer aim's off by a mile. i've been behind you the whole time. the hell're you fighting?"

Weiss charged again, Sans dodging every strike.

"hey, so i've been thinkin', and i might've been snoopin' around a little, and i've been seeing some things. some things that one of your friends is hiding. i know something's up. i just can't place exactly what it could be. all i know is that your friend is gonna have...interesting things happening soon."

"Who?"

"i won't say. i think the timeline might just rip apart if i said anything right now. and in front of so many people? major screw up for time-space."

"Sans, if you don't tell me right now, I'll tear this hoodie off your back."

"that being said...you, uh...you really like swinging that thing around, don'tcha?"

* * *

Back in the forest, Chara was prowling the grassy paths.

" _ **Come on out, Yang. I promise it'll only leave most of you sore for the rest of the year."**_

"Y'know, Chara, I really don't think I like this side of you! It's a bit too killy for my tastes!" Yang shouted, jumping from a branch above.

Catching him right in the jaw, Chara was sent across the knoll, into an old tree stump.

"Sheesh, Yang, you hit _hard,"_ Chara said, rubbing his poor, poor chin.

Noticing he was no longer in a rage, Yang's stance slackened.

"You gave me a real big scare there, big guy. You went all red-eyed and started going crazy."

" _Oh crap._ What did I do?" Chara said, worried.

"Oh, nothing bad, just a little bit of _RRGH!"_ Yang said, interrupting her sentence with another crack to Chara's jaw.

" _ **Ooooh, Mr. Dreemurr is down for the count. He'll feel that in the morning,"**_ Port exclaimed, passing the microphone to Oobleck.

" _ **Yes, quite a hit indeed. Although, Ms. Xiao Long isn't looking too good herself. The young man certainly did what he could before he went down."**_

Looking down to her Scroll, Yang saw that her own aura was in a dangerous state. Between the safe yellow-green zone and just before the disqualifiable red-zone. It was shown on her Scroll as a dark orange.

"You aren't too bad a fighter yourself, big guy."

Before rushing off to help her teammate, she pat Chara gently on the forehead.

* * *

 _hmmm...weiss schnee. LV. 7, and yang xiao long, LV. 10. looks like i'll have to bring out the big guns._

"welp, you got me. i'll surrender. that is, if you can survive my _special attack_."

Chara, from the other side of the arena, yelled to them.

" _He does nothing until you get bored!"_

Another thud was heard as his head hit the dirt, fully unconscious.

"okay then. i'll just come at you with a _really cool regular attack,"_ Sans said, quoting his brother.

Bones swirled from the ground, and flew up in front of Weiss and Yang. They spelled out a message.

"This is a really cool regular attack."

"Well, he wasn't lying," Yang said, looking hopefully to Weiss.

All at once, the bones dropped to the floor, rattling as they hit.

 _BYUUUIIP_

All around them, giant dragon-skulls were positioned, and all had a ball of energy ready to blast.

"Well, shi-"

The balls of energy were let loose, firing a full circle of lasers out at the two. Before they hit, the lasers froze, mere inches from the two girls.

"so we all know how this is gonna end, right?"

" _Yup, yeah, Sans, buddy, you made your point!"_ Yang said, a bit quickly as she shook visibly.

You'd understand why if you were faced with imminent death at the hands of giant laser dragon things.

" _ **Unbelievable! By just intimidation, Ms. Xiao Long's aura has dropped into the red! She's disqualified!"**_ Port said, marveling at the sight.

"I suppose I'll just take it as it is, then. Sans, go ahead," Weiss said, dropping her weapon and opening her arms, her eyes shut tight as she expected a blast to come at any second.

"fighting. it ain't all that grand, don'tcha think? whatcha say to just callin' it quits right here so you don't have to wake up in the hospital."

"That's an idea I can get behind," Weiss said, turning to face the commentator's booth.

"Professor Port! Doctor Oobleck! I concede defeat!" she said proudly.

" _ **Well, there you are, folks. Another exciting round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. We'll move on to Singles matches immediately, so don't go anywhere!"**_

* * *

" _ **And now, the final chosen combatants from each team that has made it this far shall duke it out for a chance to become the champion! I can't wait to see who it will be!"**_ Oobleck announced, returning his gaze to the arena.

" _ **Beacon, Haven, Shade, Atlas. All hunting schools present can say they are incredibly proud with who is representing them,"**_ Port said, beaming at the students present.

The arena's center platform rose above the other sections, and stage lights lowered down over it.

The holographic screens spun their roulette to determine the first match-up.

" _ **Mercury Black versus Sans Gaster!"**_

"Okay, skeleton, this is gonna be fun," Mercury said, trying to sound intimidating.

"i wouldn't get so cocky, kiddo. you're lookin' pretty-"

"-Pretty _boned_ , right? That's what you were gonna say?"

"no. i was going to say you're lookin' pretty screwed. what you said was stupid."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _ **Hey, everyone, just a quick update.**_

 _ **I'm going on vacation for a while on Sunday, and won't be back until probably the week after. The important thing is what's gonna happen to the story. I know I said last vacation that I'd be working on the story and posting chapters up during the week, but that's not how this is gonna work.**_

 _ **This time, I'm going to finish volume 3 before I leave, and I'll write my headcanon version of Volume 4, the final volume of this story when I come back.**_

 _ **NOTE: About the onomatopoeia BYUUUIIP thing, I looked up the sound of Sans' Gaster Blaster Master Caster Disaster noise, and I tried to spell out what I heard from the sound.**_


	19. V3 - C4 - Mercury vs Sans

**A/N:** **Hey again, everyone. Just a reminder that on Sunday, I'll be going on a vacation for a week and I won't be posting chapters. Hopefully, when I get back, I won't be swamped by things that need to be done so I can get right on back to writing. I feel like that's going to happen anyway.**

 **Moving on to more important matters, Volume 3 will end in the next chapter, which I will write tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I still have time to finish the volume. Saturday, the last chapter of Volume 3 will be released, and I'll keep trying to think of ideas over the week I'm gone. After all, the Volume 4 I'm writing will be the final volume, and it'll go off my own headcanon. It's gonna be the longest volume of the story, so look forward to it!**

 **Thanks, guys. Keep the Pyg Pen clean.**

 **Oh, hey, look! 60 reviews!**

* * *

" **Mercury Black versus Sans Gaster!"**

" **All other combatants will leave the stage, and then we shall begin the match!"**

* * *

"So, you feeling pretty good about this match?" Mercury said, getting ready to fight.

"i just fought two girls that had a gunsword and arm-shotguns. i'm feelin' pretty _tired_ about this match," Sans said, slouching where he stood.

"Then wake up," Mercury commanded, getting serious.

" **Combatants, take your places. The match will begin when the first attack lands. You may start your assault."**

"you sure you wanna do this, kid? i gotta warn ya, i'm pretty tricky," Sans said, his tone getting sharper.

"I'm ready, you bag of bones. Let's do this."

* * *

 **(Megalovania.)**

* * *

" **y'know, kid, it's a pretty great day outside. Why not just sit down, take a load off?"**

" **ah, nevermind. you probably wouldn't wanna do that anyway. you seem pretty determined to beat me."**

" **welp, i guess i'll just have to do it. sorry. nothin' personal. it's you or me at this point."**

Mercury was lifted from the spot, his aura draining slowly, and was thrown from one end of the arena to another, hitting the floor and flying up only to hit it again. All the while, he glowed blue.

Mercury was brought close to Sans after that.

" **see, here's the thing, buddy."**

" **kill my friends, my family, my family or friend's friend. do it. i've probably seen them die already about a thousand times. maybe more. but to steal someone's soul? you and your little ragtag gang have some stones."**

" **but having stones doesn't get you anywhere. not unless you know how to throw them."**

" **you played your queen too early. the joke's on you, chum. it's my turn now."**

Mercury was released from the glow, and a series of lasers shot at him.

" **see, not everyone opens with their ballsiest move first."**

Mercury took the opportunity to try and hit Sans. He pulled his foot back and kicked like he was punting a football.

" **what, you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?"**

" **friend, you got another thing comin'."**

Sans opened his eye sockets to reveal hollow, dead, cavernous darkness.

Bones flew out from nowhere in all directions, shooting towards Mercury as fast as they could go.

Jumping over them, Mercury tried another attack.

" **yeesh, kid, try aimin' better. you even tryin'?"**

" **you'd better** _ **check**_ **yourself before you wreck yourself."**

" **go on, i'll give you a sec to look at your scroll."**

 _he's good. really good. although, if i remember right, someone ought to be planning something extra for after our show. emerald sustrai. she's gonna make me look like i broke mercury's leg. i'll have to do some minor...persuasion while he's checking his scroll._

Blue suddenly filled Emerald's sight.

 _if you interfere i will personally make sure you_ _ **will**_ _have a bad time._

 _What did I just hear?_ She thought, _Was that a threat? Sans? How?_

As quickly as her eyes had changed, they changed back to their normal color, her vision returning.

" **kid, it's been a while longer than just a sec. how's your aura?"**

"I'm fine, old man, now let's get back to finishing this."

" **i couldn't agree more."**

Bones shot from the ground, speeding towards Mercury, who felt as if gravity wanted him dead. His whole body was glowing a dark blue, and each jump he made was short. When he landed, the ground underneath him was broken into pieces.

" **i can't help but notice you're panting pretty hard there, pal. you're lookin' pretty-"**

"Screwed, right? That's what you were gonna say?" Mercury interrupted, his breathing horribly ragged.

" **no, i was going to say** _ **boned.**_ **what you said is stupid."**

All around Mercury, he was trapped by a cage of bones. Other bones came out from the bars that held him in, beating him down, as his aura depleted rapidly.

" **so, kid. the next time you wanna fight me, don't bring shotgun-boots to a soul-fight."**

The cage around Mercury dropped, and one final bone shot up from the ground and knocked him into the air, letting him fly to the other side of the arena.

" **SANS WINS! MERCURY'S AURA IS COMPLETELY DEPLETED!"**

"well, kiddo, better luck next time," Sans said, putting his hands in his pockets, the shining dots in his eye sockets returning, acting as mock-pupils.

"There won't _be_ a next time."

"what was that, kiddo? i couldn't hear you," Sans said, turning to see what he expected. Mercury was flying at him, trying to complete the next part of his gang's plan.

Sans quickly opened a rip in time-space, and stepped through, only to come out several feet behind Mercury.

Mercury, confused, dropped his leg from a kicking position, and lost his footing, landing face-first into a crater in the arena's floor, made earlier by him.

Everyone in the crowd gasped, the announcers slowly rising from their seats, and a certain black-haired woman looked angrily at her mint-haired cohort.

Thousands of people saw Mercury Black, a golden student from Haven Academy, try to illegally attack a fighter after the match was finished. Not only that, but skidding across the arena had ripped part of his combat uniform, revealing screws and bolts and metal sheets.

Standing up and dusting himself off, he simply shrugged and said and indignant "What?" to the guards surrounding him, guns at the ready.

"Stand down, Mr. Black. If you cooperate, we will let you leave quietly. If you resist, we will have to have you arrested."

"What'd I do?" Mercury shouted, two guards grabbing him by the arms.

He flung about wildly trying to escape.

"No! You can't do this! What the hell?"

"Mercury Black! You are under arrest for use of illegal robotic enhancements, and attempted assault!"

"oh man. talk about plot twist, am i right?" Sans said to no-one in particular.

* * *

 **A/N:** **So yes, I did just do that.**

 **If anyone's wondering what might happen in the end, you'll just have to see.**

 **There'll be twists. There'll be plot deviations. There will be** _ **blood.**_

 **There might be a special appearance, too.**

 **Ships will sail and ships will sink. New ships might even start to build.**

 **What will happen to our intrepid band of adventurers in the next chapter?**

 **You'll just have to Come Join the Fun.**


	20. V3 - Finale - Eyes

**A/N:** **Sadly, this is the last chapter of Volume 3. Don't worry about waiting until Volume 4 comes out in October, because I'm going to write my own Volume 4, and in this Volume 4, we'll have a journey all across Remnant. The whole world.**

 **Kinda like the Journey to Cairo in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. Only instead of a stoic badass, old man, "French" guy, The Best Thing Ever, a dog, and Kakyoin, we'll have a weapons nerd, a bubbly demolitionist, a ninja, a goat, some other person, and...Jaune.**

 **So yeah...In the meantime, "enjoy" this chapter. I guarantee you won't.**

* * *

"This is **not** a tragedy. This was **not** an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children_ , to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than _men_."

 _ **Earlier that Day**_

* * *

" _ **Pyrrha Nikos versus Penny Polendina!"**_

"Wait...No! Penny!" Ruby shouted, severely distressed.

"What's wrong?" Frisk asked.

"Penny, she-she's...I can't say."

"Why?"

"I promised her."

Frisk looked to her team, most of which were paying attention to the battle that was about to start.

Sans, however, looked dead. Well, deader than usual.

"Sans?" Frisk said, confused and looking for answers.

"kid, do you remember the promise you made?"

"Never mess with the timeline?"

"now think back to the forest of forever fall."

"I talked with Jaune that morning and he didn't die when fighting the Ursa."

"you remember what i said then, don't you?"

"Never mess with the timeline?"

"now i'm askin' you to see what happens and think about whether or not you should break that promise. it's entirely up to you. if you think you need to, then you need to. it doesn't matter what i say. if you choose not to, i'll respect the decision and leave it be."

"So you're saying..."

"mess with the timeline," Sans concluded in a resigned manner.

* * *

"Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

"..."

"Are you alright? You seem to be a bit pale. Should I forfeit and save you the trouble?"

"No. No, it's fine...I'm just...I have a lot on my mind right now, and I'd rather just get this over with."

"Oh! Then we should start! Shall I make the first move?"

"If you think that's what's best..." Pyrrha said, feeling uneasy.

"Then I'm _combat ready!_ "

Pyrrha slowly crouched into a defensive stance as Penny readied her weapon.

Both fighters fought valiantly, trading blow for blow, shield blocking sword, sword locked against spear.

Pyrrha drew back momentarily, seeing her weapons bending in strange ways. Was her semblance acting up? Could others see the weapons bend like that?

Emerald smirked where she sat, getting a front row seat to the beginning of the end.

Pyrrha, now for some reason, looking completely overwhelmed, staring up at nothing. She pushed her hands in Penny's direction.

Penny froze.

Strings wound around her arms and legs.

Everyone heard it.

A crunch. A snap. A rip. A sizzle of electricity.

" **Cut the cameras!"**

" **What are you doing?"**

"There's nothing we can do sir! We don't have control over them!"

A sharp _hiss_ of feedback on a microphone.

"This is **not** a tragedy. This was **not** an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children,_ to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than _men._ When the walls cave in, and the Grimm crawl from their lair, who will _really_ come to protect you? The Hunters? The Military? One of these supposed _guardians_ has the _audacity_ to control both. And what has he come up with? A synthetic person, capable of generating aura. But why would it need to be designed like a harmless little girl? Was this a prototype? Or was it a declaration of war? We may never know. But for now, send out your Hunters, your soldiers. The forces of the darkness will strike them down all the same. The Queen has made her move. The King is in Check, Ozpin. What will you do?"

Alarms sounded throughout the stadium.

Screams rang out as people ran for evacuation ships.

"Warning. Grimm are approaching Beacon Academy. Please evacuate the area immediately in a calm and orderly fashion."

"Pyrrha! Get out of there!" Jaune yelled from the stands, pointing at a Nevermore breaking into the arena.

The Nevermore crashed through the barrier above the arena, landing in front of Pyrrha. Pyrrha, looking down at Penny, snapped from her guilty despair and shifted to an expression of shock as the Nevermore was staring intently at her, ready to strike at any moment.

A red blur rushed in front of her, followed by Frisk, who jumped from the stands and ran to catch up with the blur.

Both Ruby and Frisk picked up one of Penny's swords.

"You know how to use one of these?" Ruby asked, looking at Frisk with an unrivaled strength in her eyes.

"I've used knives in past timelines. This can't be _too_ different," Frisk said, her voice shaking along with her wrist. She would have admitted it. She was afraid. Afraid of what had happened, afraid of who took over the broadcast, and very much afraid of the gigantic beast in front of her.

The sword in her hand was shivering, Ruby's hand steady as she stared down the beast.

"H-How do you do this?" Frisk stuttered, feeling a sense of dread wash over her as she looked at the beast.

"You just run at it, swing it around, and hope to all that's right with the world that it gets hit with the pointy bit," Ruby responded, not a hint of a joke in her voice. This was her first time handling a sword too.

"Right."

"But that doesn't mean we can just let this _thing_ hurt our friend! We have to fight back! It's what Penny would want!" Ruby said, her voice wavering, cracking as she spoke.

Frisk looked at Ruby to see her eyes welling up with tears.

"Right. And I know she'd be proud to call us friends if she knew what we were about to do," Frisk said, reassuring Ruby as she steadied herself, no longer scared to fight.

 ***[REDACTED] blocks the way!**

 ***F**

 ***I**

 ***G**

 ***H**

 ***T**

Ruby and Frisk ran to the Nevermore, swords raised, eyes aflame with an overwhelming feeling.

A feeling...

 ***OF DETERMINATION.**

The swords plunged deep into the chest of the bird, ripping through its heart, and tearing through its back.

The bird fell off its feet and dropped onto its side, disintegrating.

The students that had stayed with them cheered, calling in all their weapons, getting ready for their fiercest battle yet.

* * *

"Oh man, Neo, you show up at the best times! Ooooh! What's this button do?"

A small red button was pressed on the main console of the ship.

A platoon of robotic guards dropped from the cargo bay.

"Eh. Nothin' I guess. _Laaame!"_

Neo tapped Roman on the shoulder and handed him a scroll.

Plugging it in, the console turned red, and so did the optics of the deployed robots.

 _Thud_.

"Neo, if you would," Roman said, gesturing to the roof.

* * *

Ozpin, gesturing to Pyrrha to follow him, walked into the tower that carried his office above.

She followed. Jaune accompanied her.

Teams of Weiss, Blake, SSSN, CFVY, FNKI, ABRN, NDGO, and Ren and Nora had been left to deal with the rogue robots. They were making progress, pushing them back until an upgraded Atlesian Paladin ran to fight them.

"Velvet, I think it's time," Coco said.

"Say no more," she said, opening her little brown box and setting it on the floor.

A blue holographic scythe formed in her hand. She immediately went to work, tearing through the metal of the robots, making her way through the ranks as she switched weapons. Scythe, Rapier, Gunsword, Shot-gauntlets, Spear, Sword, Hammer, Machine Pistols, Minigun, and as she turned to the second to last enemy, Velvet unleashed one final attack.

A pair of Dragon Skulls surrounded a spinning wheel of swords, all the while, stars shot rapidly at the robots. The spinning sword wheel shot a laser as wide as Velvet was tall, the dragon skulls shooting soon after the lasers.

And as quickly as it had begun, the assault had stopped. But there was one more Paladin left.

Weiss, charging in to defend Velvet, stopped in front of it, bracing for impact.

A loud _slice_ noise sounded, as the Paladin was split in two.

Weiss opened her eyes and saw a white, glowing, armored hand holding a sword.

* * *

Ruby had gotten back to Beacon just in time, as a Grimm Beast the size of which she had never seen before had barreled through the sky towards Ozpin's tower.

Pyrrha had gone in to fight the person who was up at the top.

She had gone to check on her team at the time, and what she had seen wasn't pretty.

Blake was stabbed through the stomach, and Yang…Yang wouldn't be holding anything with her right arm for a _long_ time...her arm was cut off at the elbow. But then Ruby had seen someone next to her Sister.

Chara, of all people, was kneeling next to her, quietly pleading with some higher power to let Yang live. Chara was cut, bruised and bashed all over. But that's to be expected, considering who he had fought to bring the two to safety.

Armed with nothing but a small butcher's knife, he had singlehandedly taken on the leader of a terrorist organization to save two of the people he had come to care about. A friend, and someone who he loved dearly.

He had fought valiantly, only to have Adam Taurus escape from his clutches and leave the school.

Ruby then turned to Weiss, and then looked up to the tower.

"We have to stop Cinder."

* * *

Jaune. He was…not perfect. Far from it. He made many mistakes. But his life at Beacon was counted among one of his best experiences yet. And then the bad guys came, trashed his dreams, and destroyed the school.

To say the least, he was infuriated. To say the most would probably end up with him in a dark room with the leader of whatever force had attacked the school and horrible things happening in said room.

But as his mind wandered, he remembered the simultaneously best and worst memory of his life. And it had only happened a few moments ago. For he was currently flying to Vale in a rocket-propelled locker.

" _Pyrrha, I don't understand! Why are you-"_

 _She had kissed him. It lasted only a second, but it was the best feeling he had felt in his life._

 _And then she shoved him into a locker and typed the coordinates for a safe part in Vale._

" _I'm sorry," was all she said._

Remembering this, he pulled out his scroll, dialed Ruby's number and screamed his heart out telling her to save Pyrrha.

* * *

"YOU CAN BE A BETTER PERSON! ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TRY!"

"Oh, you naïve little skeleton. A better person doesn't just appear because you want them to. This world is cruel. It's unforgiving. No-one will care if you 'believe' hard enough," Cinder said, her burning, orange eyes filled with power.

"IF I STAY DETERMINED, NOTHING WILL GO WRONG! DO YOU BELIEVE IN DESTINY?"

"…"

She said nothing for a moment before responding, perhaps thinking it over.

"Yes."

Pyrrha burst from the broken elevator, ready for a fight, her green eyes slightly tinted an amber-orange.

"IT'S NOT TOO LATE, HUMAN! I…"

A blade pierced through Papyrus' chest.

Papyrus' body disintegrated into dust, His battle body was a shell of its former self, his scarf piled in a small ball by the hole where his head went.

Papyrus' head still lingered, not ready to leave for the world beyond.

"I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU!"

His skull disappeared, and his ashes spread in the wind.

A scream was let out beside Cinder and Pyrrha, as Ruby, who had just reached the top of the tower, seethed with otherworldly energy. The world around her froze. Cinder had stopped moving. The Dragon was in a catatonic state as it was perched upon Beacon's highest tower. Pyrrha had enough sense to shield herself, and ran to get to Ruby.

* * *

"Kid. Hey, Ruby! Hey, everyone, she's waking up!" said a low, gravelly voice.

Ruby woke up to her old room in her house back in Patch.

She was stiff, and achey, and didn't want to be awake at all. It was much too bright.

To the others, though, it was as if a miracle had happened. Taiyang, Chara, Sans and Frisk charged into the room.

"What happened? How did I get here?" she asked.

"When you were at Beacon, what was the last thing you remember?" the gravel-voice had asked. Knowing it was probably her uncle Qrow, she opened her eyes and shielded them.

"I remember…the Grimm, the White Fang, seeing Yang, getting a call from Jaune about…Pyrrha!"

"Pyrrha is fine, Ruby. She's with her teammates. Do you remember anything else?"

"I remember seeing this girl…Cinder…She…killed…Sans, your brother, he-"

"i know, kiddo. i know. i miss him too."

"I don't remember much after that. My head…hurt. A lot. And then everything turned white. And now, I'm here."

"Can I get a second with Ruby, everyone?" Qrow said.

Everyone filed out and shut the door.

"Do you remember the first thing Ozpin said to you?"

"Uh…No."

"You have Silver Eyes. You're special, Ruby. And not in the _Daddy loves his special little snowflake_ way. Those eyes of yours are important to a legend. You come from a long line of Silver Eyed warriors. It was said that a single look from one of these hunters could kill an army of Grimm. Your mother had those same eyes. The same eyes you have. The power within them is said to rival that of the Seasonal Maidens."

"Then those stories Yang would read to me were all-"

"True? Yeah."

"Then, what should I do?"

"That's up to you, Ruby. If I were you…I'd start my search for answers by getting your little friendship club back together. Then, I'd pack supplies and set out for Haven. Your little Schnee friend is in Atlas, taken by her father, and her little boyfriend was taken with her, if a bit…roughly. Her father isn't exactly accepting, but apparently, exceptions can be made. And your cat-girl friend has gone pretty much missing from the face of the planet, so reuniting the team might be a bit hard to pull off. There _have_ been reports of masked men and women bearing the original sigil of the more peaceful White Fang that have been going around the world and fighting the new White Fang. You just do what you want. Besides, you got some friends waiting for ya. Gotta say, your friend Frisk seemed _pretty_ worried. Oh, and team JNPR is outside the house."

As Qrow left, he looked back at Ruby worriedly, and then hurried back to the kitchen.

A grey door formed in front of her bed as soon as Qrow left.

A creak echoed through the room as the door opened on its own. Around the door, bony fingers curled and pushed.

The door swung open, revealing a tall, slim, business-like skeleton in a white, knit sweater and a black tailcoat. His black formal shoes squished the rug underneath his feet.

His hands moved quickly, shutting the door, taking out a key, and locking it, before the door swirled and shrank until it was nothing.

"^&*%*(&( )&%(&%*(&%()."

"What?"

The skeleton made a gesture as if to clear his throat. Ruby heard the strange noises of clicks and cracks before he gestured once again to pay attention to him.

"My name is Doctor W. D. Gaster, and I would like to thank you for releasing me from the void."

"The Void?"

"A horrid place, indeed, but see here, little warrior of the Silver Eyes. You draw the power you wield from that void."

* * *

 **And so another chapter closes in the life of the simple soul.**

 **Death.**

 **Life.**

 **And its consequences.**

 **The lives of their friends and family, as well as the lives of both the innocent and guilty.**

 **So will they fight for what they believe is right? Or will the divide between the friends be enough to corrupt the innocence it still holds dear.**

 **So, please. Send in your knights. Your Hunters. Your 'Heroes and Monsters.' Send that simple soul, Ozpin. Let her endure the nightmares of the world and see if she remains simple and pure at the journey's end.**


	21. V4 - Prologue - The End of the Beginning

**A/N:** **Hey, everyone. So, a new thing is happening right now. I've started doing Beta work using DocX connections. Before I used to just Copy and Paste the chapter into a Word Document and then edit, and send it to the author using the PM system, but I just discovered how easy it is to use DocX.**

 **On to more important matters! I've recently heard from a friend, fellow Beta, and wonderful writer, about a thing in literature called "The Hero's Journey."**

 **The basic gist of "The Hero's Journey," is the cycle in which certain events in the story happen to push the main character into an adventure, trial, or relationship.**

 **There are twelve general steps of The Hero's Journey. We've only just begun. I'll explain the ones we've completed in a note at the bottom of the page, relating to the story you're already reading.**

 **This chapter will be mostly, if not completely, dialogue driven.**

* * *

"A horrid place indeed, but see here, young warrior of the Silver Eyes. You draw the power you wield from that void."

"WHAT?"

"Yes, you didn't know? You have an infinite supply of power at your disposal. The reason I'm here now is because you let out enough Void Energy for me to escape. Strange, isn't it?"

"I have to admit, it isn't _normal_."

"Listen to me, Ruby Rose. There is an evil out in Remnant. An evil I'm not sure you and your companions can fight."

"So that's it? We're just doomed? We're all gonna die?"

"That...that seems to be the case. I'm sorry."

"No. Not if I have any say in the matter. Where is it? We've come too far now to just give up."

"You don't understand! You'll all die if you fight it now!"

"Then I'll go down swinging."

"You won't have to do it alone," someone said from the door.

Frisk walked in, followed by Sans, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha.

"We've got your back, Ruby," said Jaune, his voice unwavering, with a confidence never heard before.

"We're going on an _ADVENTURE!"_ said Nora, her bubbly personality trying hard to cheer everyone up.

"We'll face many hardships, but in the end, I feel it will all be worth it," Ren said, smiling softly.

"We'll help, Ruby. No matter what," Pyrrha said, her eyes flashing orange.

"welp. i guess that settles it, then. pops, i'll see ya when we get back. we'll be going out for a while, and won't be back as soon as you would've hoped," Sans said, finalizing the decision.

* * *

"Asriel, I'm sure they're fine."

" _No! They can't be fine! Did you see Yang? Blake? Yang had an arm missing, and Blake had been bleeding from the stomach! Is that FINE to you?"_

"Asriel, please, just calm down and think about this. It's been a week. I'm sure that everyone escaped in the best condition they could."

" _Then WHY isn't ANYONE returning my CALLS?"_

"They...probably just have a lot to deal with. Papyrus...he..."

" _SHHH...I'm calling again."_

"I'm telling you, it won't-"

" _SH. They answered._ Hey. Yeah. I just wanted to check in, see how everyone was doing. Nobody died, right? Everyone's okay? Ruby's up? Is she okay? She's mostly unharmed, then. And Yang? Not much worse, but still missing an arm? I'll bet she's feeling pretty bad. Can't do much. What about Blake? What? She's just gone? No sign? No note? She wasn't even found at Beacon? But Chara brought her back with Yang! Wait, what happened to Chara? Oh. Okay. I'll...I'll tell Weiss. Thanks for answering, Tai. Can you keep in touch? Yeah, like maybe weekly calls. Things aren't all on the up and up here at the SDC. Especially with me here. Yeah. Thanks again, Tai. I'll talk to you next week."

"So what happened? I heard most of it, but what happened?"

"Well...you're not gonna like this."

* * *

"Ms. Belladonna, the White Fang are planning to attack another shipment of SDC Dust. What should we do?"

"Burn any written plans you can find and inform the CEO. It's time I held a meeting with him."

* * *

"Yang, I've got good news, bad news, and some worse news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Good news, Dad."

"Chara's still here, and he agreed to stay with you."

"Bad news?"

"Chara? Do you wanna come show her?"

Chara enters the room, significantly shorter than before.

"So...you remember Adam, right? Well that fight left me with some longer lasting problems than I thought."

Chara had driven himself into the room in a wheelchair.

"Your legs are broken?"

"Paralyzed. The doctors said the damage wasn't severe enough to paralyze them forever, but it'll take a while before I can get back on my feet."

"So the worse news is?"

"Ruby left to get team RWBY back together. She took Frisk, Sans and team JNPR with her."

* * *

 **A/N:** **So yeah, I decided to make a sort of pre-timeskip prep chapter to show the beginning of the journey. Where everyone is, their situation, and setting up future plot points. On to the points of the Hero's Journey, I believe we've started Volume 4 with the third, fourth and fifth part of the journey, so we're already more than a third of the way through the cycle.**

 **1) The Ordinary World: In this story, the characters of team PACSF are introduced to seem strange, fun, and in some cases, relatable, so that the readers sympathize with them in their situation, problem or other dilemmas. Some unknown force is pulling these characters to a great adventure, though they don't know it yet.**

 **2) The Call to Adventure: The force that pulls the team to the adventure is gaining power, forcing them to prepare themselves for their inevitable journey. This could be the Fall of Beacon.**

 **3) Refusal of the Call: Frisk, Ruby, and their friends are all recovering from the Fall of Beacon, and team RWBY has split up across Remnant, while team PACSF is recovering from the loss of Papyrus. Asriel has gone against his will to accompany Weiss, and has lost contact with anyone else. None of our heroes feel they are ready for the adventure ahead, and as such are unprepared for the dangers. This all happens in the week Ruby had been sleeping after the events of Volume 3.**

 **4) Meeting With the Mentor: Qrow tells Ruby where to find Blake and Weiss, setting a goal for her to reach, giving her an incentive to cross the threshold from the Ordinary World to the Special World, and the appearance of Gaster only gives her that last push to make her take that first step.**

 **5) Crossing the Threshold: At the end of Act One, Ruby, Frisk and the gang commit to leaving behind the Ordinary World, and make their way to the Special World, their new adventure.**


	22. V4 - C1 - To Atlas

**A/N:** **Hey, everyone, it's Pyg again, just here for another chapter, and while I'm here, I figured I'd respond to some Reviews who've used Guest profiles, and other things like the "Sans debunkers" and the people who are sad about Papy. Next chapter is going to be with just Ruby.**

* * *

 **Justsomefanboy – You asked if I would release more chapters** _ **after**_ **volume 4 came out. No. I won't. I'll be releasing new chapters whenever I can, using my own imagination to shape my own version of volume 4, making it a good ending to the series.**

 **Sans Debunkers – I know, I've seen the Sans Debunkings on Youtube, and I know Toby said he's not, but for the sake of the story, please pay no mind to it, and just let it be. I have something planned later in the story that involves Sans, Ness, and the old Earthbound crew.**

 **Humantale – I'm sorry, but I won't be adding Humantale any time soon. I will, however, use the "alternate universes" plot in a different way near the end of the story. Not revealing how yet, though. That'd just spoil the surprise.**

 **Sansfan – I'm happy I could impress you, and I'm looking forward to seeing more reviews from you if you decide to keep reading.**

 **Papyrus Grievers – HAHAHA, YOUR TEARS ARE DELICIOUS!**

 **Geo – I would've liked to write the fight between Chara and Adam, but I wasn't really feeling up to writing the Velvet scene and Chara vs. Adam in the same chapter. Rest assured, though, you'll get your wish somehow, much later in the story. SPOILER ALERT: Adam is probably gonna need some...painkillers...for that.**

* * *

Patch at night was a sight to see. The lights of the small village were brightly shining, a beacon of hope on an otherwise deserted island, taken over by Grimm. But there was a strange little cabin in the woods, where no villager dared to go. The home of Death. Death was a strange resident. Death acted cheery, welcoming and warm, while inside, the villagers knew Death was hurt. By what, they didn't know, but they knew that it was powerful. Death had lost that shining hope that once filled her silver eyes.

But in that cabin, the villagers knew that there were things happening that no one ventured to even think about. Death, on more than one occasion, had visited the village. She set up in the town square, awaiting a villager's approach. When one did, Death would inquire their reasons for consulting her. Then, when the problem was explained, Death would give them a price. Lien, or other things. Foodstuffs, water, clothing.

Once the price was set, Death would set out on her quest, and completed it with increasing efficiency, one time even coming back within five minutes of the price being set. This carried on in a daily cycle for six months, until one day. On that day, Death came to town one last time.

A red cloak fluttered behind Death, who was walking towards the town square again. This time, however, she ignored town square, walking past it, and towards the houses of the residents. At each house, she stopped, knocked on the door, and entered the house.

"Goodbye. I'm heading to Atlas, and won't be coming back anytime soon. Come to the people in the cabin in the woods if you need any assistance," Death said to the residents, her tone never changing as she delivered the same message. Strangely, as the residents came from their houses to follow Death, she had a team of others that followed her. The more the villagers saw, the more they wanted to know.

Who were these people?

Who was Death?

Why Atlas?

Why now?

And the last question, that tugged at the back of everyone's minds.

What hurt Death?

* * *

On the other hand, Atlas at night was horrid. The skyline cracked the star-studded fields of the sky, illuminating miles beyond the city center with their mass of mish-mashed lights, the hum of an aircraft never too far from the ear of the populace.

Never too far from the ear of Weiss Schnee.

Weiss Schnee had been feeling relatively...under the weather lately. Not due to illness. At least, not of a real illness. Weiss Schnee, in her own home, felt...homesick.

Strange, no? Her own home didn't feel like a home anymore. She felt as if she had been imprisoned. Like Asriel said only days ago when they discussed her feelings. She felt like a "gilded bird in a golden cage." Sure, she was "home," safe from danger, safe from harm, but she had been used so much by her family as what she was sure what a hostage must feel like. A bargaining chip. She _was_ offered comfort, protection, and all she wanted, but not anything she said was taken with a grain of salt. She was patronized when talked to, and often just outright _ignored_ if a matter didn't concern her or Asriel. The only thing they allowed her was a phone call. Once a week.

To her, home was Beacon. With her team, friends and professors, no matter how strange and unconventional it was, she felt happy there. Her _team_ was her family. Not these... _Bureaucrats_! She was a Huntress, not a simple little girl!

So it came as a surprise to her when she heard her door open, expecting a servant or her father come to coddle her again, and see her teammate walk through the door.

"Weiss."

"Blake?"

"Yes. It's me."

"Why? How? Where were you?"

"I...disappeared for a while. Went into hiding. I didn't want any of you to get hurt. Then, about a week later, I organized a group of people who wanted to push back the Grimm in Vale. That grew into a global syndicate that responded to alerts given to Hunters that supported us. Fast forward six months later, and I'm the leader of an organization of Anti-White Fang soldiers trained by me to fight them. Whenever an attack is reported, we fight back."

"So...you're...counter-terrorists?"

"In a way, yes. We've been running low on supplies as of late, and we couldn't get enough from our usual deliveries, so I contacted your father and struck a deal with him."

"What kind of deal?"

"You can think of us formally as business partners. I give him extra soldiers as added protection against White Fang attacks, and he gives us ammo, weapons and other supplies."

"All this in half a year?"

"When fighting the Grimm didn't work too well, we shifted focus to the other group that attacked Beacon. Now, by fighting back against the White Fang, the faunus that are fighting with us are being treated right. We're achieving what the White Fang _wished_ it was capable of. Cooperation with humanity, _and_ equal treatment. Now that it's official, the SDC is fully supporting us. That'll improve relations, and boost morale for the fight against the Fang."

"That's great! Have you heard from anyone?"

"Anyone we knew? No. I purposefully cut myself off from everyone we knew to keep them safe from Adam. How about you?"

"Asriel just called Ruby and Yang's house again. Remember when Chara fought Adam and carried you and Yang away? Chara's wheelchair-bound until he regains feeling in his legs. Taiyang said he's reported feeling a tingling sensation in his left knee and ankle. He won't be standing soon, but hopefully, he'll be up before the end of the year. Yang...has been coping...in her own way. She used to sit in her bed for whole days. Now, she's started going into the forest and fighting Grimm. Her eyes haven't been the same since Ruby left to find us. They've stayed red, like she's angry all the time."

"That can't be good."

* * *

"Yang! Wait!"

"NO! I'M NOT WAITING, CHARA! I'M GOING INTO THE FOREST! DON'T FOLLOW ME!"

"Someone's here to talk to you!"

"THEY CAN WAIT UNTIL I'M BACK!"

"It's Ironwood!"


	23. V4 - C2 - A New Adventure Starts

**A/N:** **So RWBY Volume 4 came out about a week ago. Man. The feels. Also, Pumpkin Pete. But, man. The feels. AAAAAAAAAAANYWAY, I figured I'd say this.**

 **I'm not following RWBY Vol. 4 canon. I'll be writing my own version, with my own ending, shortening it so it stays in only four volumes, where it will end.**

 **So now that that's out of the way, I'll answer some reviews.**

 **Randymad: *cough* SPOILER WARNING *cough***

 **Taeniaea: Thanks. Hope to see some more reviews from you!**

 **Justsomefanboy: Dude. You have to make an account so I can PM with you. I've been pretty busy as of late, so I don't really have a set update schedule. I try to get out chapters as fast as I can. And don't worry about Papyrus. His death absolutely has sparked a convoluted plot point.**

 **Turtle: Creative name, dude. Also, MY MAN.**

 **So that was that. Hopefully, more of you guys will leave some reviews. It's manageable enough that I can answer all of the things I get, but it just feels a little short. It's fun answering these, so I kinda want to do more of that.**

 **This chapter's gonna be shorter than the others. I've been very busy lately so this was all I could put together.**

* * *

The cold wind of Patch in the Fall swept through the town. There was a certain emptiness there. One that was left by a group of hopeful, young people going out on a foolhardy journey that would most likely find them in over their heads.

But as an airship started its engines, one of those youngsters had begun to get cold feet.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah, Frisk?"

"Are you gonna be okay to leave? I'll understand if we have to go without you. You have Yang to look after," she said, concern plain in her voice.

"You're one to talk. You've got Chara to worry about," Ruby responded nervously.

"I'm not worried about him. He's more than capable, even in a wheelchair."

"Okay. But...I'm also sure that I can't just leave you guys to go fight alone. It has something to do with my eyes. They...won't allow me to just quit this."

"You know this is really dangerous, right?"

"I have every reason to believe it is. I just wish I could've seen this coming before the sh-...before everything happened."

"You want to reform your team, right? Well, what'll we do when it happens? If it even does happen, that is. Where will we go from there?"

"Well...by that time I was hoping to have come across a thing that'll lead us to some other important thing that needs doing."

"So from there, we have no plan. Qrow said something to you about starting your search with Haven, the Mistralian combat academy. Why don't we go with that?"

"That...that sounds like a much better plan than mine. Let's get going before the airship leaves without us," Ruby said, sounding much more confident than before.

* * *

Being up in the air during a time in which Grimm can spawn at any given moment in any place at all is not a very comfortable place to be. Especially on a commercial, public flight to another continent entirely.

That being said, the uncomfortable conditions could not have gotten worse. Unless something were to go horribly awry.

* * *

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Mhmm."

"Loaded?"

"Yup."

"Loaded."

"Safety's off?"

"Uh-huh."

"Got it."

"I'll go first. Anything happens, get out there and take care of whoever's playin' hero."

* * *

"EVERYONE! DOWN ON THE FLOOR! YOU DON'T COOPERATE, WE SHOOT!"

All of the passengers crouched down in the rows of seats. All except one.

"What's wrong with _you_ , girly? Didn't you hear what I said? _Down. On. The. Floor._ "

"Sir? Mr. White Fang...man?" Frisk said, trying to stall for time.

"What, you wanna say goodbye, or pray to whatever god you think there is to save you?" the man said confidently, taunting her as he put his gun's barrel up to her nose. Behind her, Ruby had begun to look pale.

"You might want to watch behind you."

"What? You think I'm _that_ stupid? That's it. Say goodbye."

Just as he had begun to pull the trigger, a streak of pink and a blur of green had incapacitated the man, the pink one dismantling the gun forcefully.

Two more White Fang soldiers walked out from the back of the airship.

"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO PLAY ALONG!"

"NOW WE'RE GONNA START SHOOTIN'!"

But as the guns started the beat of their drums, Jaune and Pyrrha came out from behind the gunners. They grabbed the two White Fang soldiers, jamming their arms into their necks, quickly putting them to sleep.

"So sorry, everyone, but we'll need to make a bit of a bumpier landing than normal. One of our engines is dead. Buckle up, and please thank these young heroes as we assess the situation and the damage when we land," the pilot announced over the intercom.

* * *

The landing had indeed been bumpy, and the thanks were many in number. According to the pilot, they had landed about a day's walk from Atlas, so the amateur adventurers made their way to Atlas, following a slightly less snow-covered "path" than the other passengers.

JNPR had held out well, considering all that they had been through in the last six months. They had fought many things and won, and they had seen their fair share of what the Grimm were capable of, now that the so-called "age of peace" had been so abruptly ended.

Ruby had definitely been brought down from her naïve "Light triumphs over Darkness" pedestal. The fairy tales she had read told of heroic victories against the forces that killed indiscriminately, and fought for the sake of fighting, without any reason to do so. But that has changed. She realized after the Fall of Beacon that the privilege to write the history of a war is given to the side that wins.

Sans had seen better timelines, but he thought to himself _at least this timeline hasn't reset yet._

Frisk had most definitely grown the most out of the group during their travels. She learned when Penny "died" that fighting isn't just a barbaric way to "remove" problems. She learned that, with the right reasons, fighting is justified, righteous, and sometimes the only solution.

They felt as if the world was fighting against them. But they also felt that they were fighting back.

Except, about six or seven hours into their walk to Atlas, all they felt was the cold.

JNPR had started walking side-by-side for warmth, huddling together.

Ruby had her cloak to keep her warm. Odd, since it had so many holes in it.

Sans was fine. He had no nerves to _feel_ cold.

Frisk however, was shaking like a leaf on a tree in a hurricane.

"You okay, Frisk?" Ruby asked.

"F-f-f-f-frickin' f-f-f-freezing. Otherw-w-wise, p-peachy."

"What about your sweater?"

"A sweater. In this weather. Admittedly, this is a thick-knit sweater, but a simple sweater's not gonna keep out below-freezing winds."

"Well, if you need it, I'll share my cloak...It's super warm and fuzzy in here!" she said, opening the cloak up and extending a hand to Frisk.

By the time Ruby had opened the cloak, Frisk had already joined her.

"Hey, whoa. Didn't expect that..."

Closer now, Frisk saw that Ruby's face was red.

"Are you okay? Your face is all...red and stuff. Is the cold getting to you to?"

"Y-yeah...the wind _is_ pretty cold. Kinda hurts the skin, doesn't it?"

For about a half a day, they walked like that. JNPR grouped together, Sans walking casually, and Ruby and Frisk sharing a cloak.

As the sky grew dark, and the grey clouds turned black, Jaune shouted to the group, "GUYS! I SEE SKYSCRAPERS! I THINK WE'RE CLOSE!"

* * *

"Asriel, what did they say this time?"

"Well...They said...Yang went off into the forest to go fight Grimm. Ironwood's waiting at the house. Chara went off to find her."

"I thought he was in a wheelchair."

"He still is. Weiss, you know what this means, right?"

"I can venture a guess, yes. Why?"

"If _Ironwood showed up_ , then that means he's got business with someone there. If he's _waiting for Yang_ , then he's got business with her. Why? I think he's got something for her."

A knock at the door sounded throughout the room.

" _Hide the phone!_ " Weiss said.

Asriel quickly shoved the phone under the mattress of Weiss' bed.

"Come in!" He said.

A man in clothes that suggested he was a butler shuffled in, bowing and folding his hands together.

"Ms. Schnee, _Asriel,_ I would like to inform you that we have found a group of trespassers that I believe you may recognize."

Security officers entered and lined up, each with a "trespasser" in their grasp.

In front of her was her schoolmates, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Sans, and Frisk.

* * *

"YANG! YANG! WHERE ARE YOU?"

...

"YANG! STOP SCARING ME!"

...

"IRONWOOD'S WAITING!"

...

"This is useless. She's not coming back until she wants to."

...

"Or until she can't keep fighting."

...

"But she's running the risk of not even _coming_ back."

...

"I have to go get her."


	24. V4 - C3 - A New Party Member!

**A/N:** **Hey guys! Guess what month it is! It's NaNoWriMo! National Novel Writing Month! So I thought I'd devote more of my free time to writing this than to playing video games. ONWARDS!**

 **To those who reviewed,**

 **Jack 54311 – Okay, dude, your name bothers me. 54311. WHY NOT 54321? Also, thanks.**

 **Sakura's Unicorn – Okay...too long. I mean, I know you work as a beta to a lot of people but, too long. Three reviews in a row with four to five line breaks in each one. Calm down. This is gonna take a bit to answer this one. (BTW PEOPLE, THIS IS THE ONE THAT SHOWED ME HERO'S JOURNEY.)**

 **SU - Review #1 – It sure is fun to use the Hero's Journey as a formula to write with. It gives me more structure than I've ever had in any of my stories. I love Nora. Just love her. She's just a wonderful little cinnamon roll too pure for that world. Blake was probably my favorite section to write for, though. It's a real departure from what happens in the show, as she's shown as heading for Menagerie in the opening.**

 **SU – Review #2 – Potent: Having great power, influence or effect. I like to think I...influence or affect my readers in some way. Ruby being likened to Death was somewhat of a thing I've wanted to do in a lot of my stories. Just couldn't find a place that felt right for it. That last line felt absolutely awesome when I first wrote it down. Super powerful. Ironwood's appearance was a bit...I don't know how to say it...a bit of a whim for me? I just want what I have planned to happen** _ **so bad**_ **.**

 **SU – Review #3 – Never meant to callback to Ruby in the store. Now I kinda feel how Ray Bradbury felt when he named Montag and Faber in Fahrenheit 451. He said he never really thought about their names before. Then, upon reflection, Montag was named after a paper-making company, and Faber was named for a pencil manufacturer. Moving on, I LOVE writing dialogue. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I always try my very best to make all of the dialogue sound as casual and free-flowing as possible. Also, dark things for Chara? What could you possibly mean? *wink wink, nudge nudge***

 **Still working with the Hero's Journey, yeah. I'm just not putting up the steps in it that I've gone over. I'll have to look it over again and see how far we've come. Also, I'm thinking that I should do something to...bring everyone's spirits up. I'll be doing something I've never done before. AN OMAKE. A funny little gem that took inspiration from the very review I've just responded to. Thanks, SU! It's gonna show up at the end of the chapter, starting from the end of the previous chapter, A New Adventure Starts.**

* * *

"So, Ms. Schnee, do you know these people?"

Through gritted teeth, she responded.

" _Yes. They're my friends._ "

"So would you mind telling me their names?"

Pointing to each as she said their name, Weiss continued.

" _Ruby. Frisk. Sans. Jaune. Nora. Pyrrha. Ren._ "

"Now, what shall we do with them?"

" _Klein."_

"Yes?"

" _Kindly have the security guards put my friends down._ "

"Of course. You heard the lady, gents. Let go."

" _Now. Guards, you are relieved of your duties permanently. Leave the company grounds and speak of this to no one. I promise to have you paid handsomely for an early retirement. I'll make sure of it._ "

Without thinking, the guards bowed respectfully to Weiss and removed their helmets, marching out in an orderly line. The door shut behind them. Quietly.

Sighing deeply, Weiss found an armchair by her desk to settle into.

"So...you're all here."

"That, we are," Ruby responded awkwardly.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You've come to collect me for another _brilliant adventure_ , no doubt."

"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't say it like that, but..."

"Asriel!" Weiss said, loud enough to wake the sleeping form in her bed.

"Meh...Five more minutes."

" _Asriel!_ " she said again, a little louder this time.

"Huh? Yeah? What is it?"

"Look around."

Asriel sat up in the bed. His shirt had been unbuttoned haphazardly, and his fur looked a mess. Obviously, he tried to look as disheveled as possible...probably as an act put on for the guards.

"Oh. Does this mean what I think it means?"

"Pack everything you need. We're breaking out."

* * *

"So what made you want to leave this place so soon?" Ruby asked, "It's so fancy and clean here. But then again, the Schnee Company logo is _everywhere._ Now that I look around...I can kinda see it'd get pretty old pretty fast, living here."

"I can't believe I wasn't thinking about this before. Only a few days ago, Blake came into our room, unannounced, and told me she's built up an entire resistance force against the White Fang. In half a year. Now, here you are, traveling from Patch to Atlas by airship, bringing down three White Fang soldiers and who knows how many Grimm on your way. Where have I been? Sitting in my room, reading books, practicing glyphs, and pouting about like a little princess."

"So why only now did you think about this?"

"You and Blake showed me that this isn't the end of us. You're trying. She's trying. I'm cowering and waiting for evil to come knocking on my door. I should be out there. I _need_ to be out there."

"Huh...So what was the plan again? I mean, you know this place best out of all of us, so I figured you should come up with the escape plan."

" _Come up with the escape plan?_ We've had one planned for at least a month and a half," Asriel interjected.

"If I may, Ms. Schnee," Klein interrupted quietly.

"Go ahead."

"The supplies you would need for what I'm sure is a horribly dangerous, grueling, and unsanitary journey are not all here in your room."

"And?"

"Allow me to be blunt. I shall go and... _procure_ these items...'legally.' From the SDC Excess Goods storage room," Klein said, sliding out of the room.

Coming back only moments later, he had in his arms a fully packed bag for her trip, as well as somehow taking her briefcase and organizing it without her knowing.

"Klein?"

"Yes, My Lady?"

"How...did you do all of this?"

"Well," Klein began, his warm smile spreading to a devilish sneer, "before I was hired as a Schnee Dust Company servant...I was, to put it simply, one _hell_ of a butler."

* * *

The group of friends, now numbering nine, reviewed their escape plan for about the eightieth time in what seemed like an hour.

"What's so hard about understanding this?" asked Weiss, clearly visibly frustrated.

"Well, Weiss, let's think," Frisk said, "your plan starts with 'leave through the window,' and ends with 'wing it from there.' When you say it like that, _there is no plan._ "

"But _I_ didn't say it like that, did I? I said 'when we leave through the window, we'll have to figure out what to do from that point.'"

" _That's winging it!"_

"Asriel said we had _an_ escape plan. He never said it was a _good_ escape plan."

And so, with no other solution, they all left through an open window, leaving Klein in the now-empty room.

Maneuvering through the compound was easier than they had thought. They had reached the outer wall that led to Atlas' main city, but stopped quickly when they saw black-hooded figures in white robes.

"White Fang?" Ruby asked, pulling her scythe out, ready for a scrap.

"No. They're friendlies. Blake's organization," Asriel answered.

"Do you think they've seen us?"

"I don't think so..."

"Guess again?"

"I see glowing yellow eyes, and a red light near the left one's wrist."

"They've seen us, haven't they?"

"We should just go with them, then. We might be able to give them the slip later."

Asriel felt a tapping on his shoulder.

"Asriel, Weiss, assorted friends. It's...good to see you again," they said as the group turned around to meet the mysterious speaker.

Everyone whispered in unison, "Blake?"

* * *

"YANG!" Chara shouted into the forest.

...

"YANG, PLEASE!" Chara shouted, once again being met with nothing.

...

"DON'T DO THIS!" he tried again, frustration turning into desperation.

...

"COME BACK!" his shouts began to sound like pleas.

...

"I need you," he said, close to tears.

...

 _Fwap, fwap, fwap..._

A small, black bird landed gently on Chara's arm.

"And what do _you_ want?" he asked rhetorically.

The bird did not flinch and fly away. It stared intently at him, the beak holding a shred of paper.

"What, a message?" he asked.

 _Why would such an odd bird be delivering letters?_ he thought.

Looking at the paper, he instantly understood why.

"So...you are just _parent of the year_ , you know that?"

He steered himself off into the direction of a dusty, old barn.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Oh, this has to be my favorite cliffhanger yet. Also...I'm not sorry about Klein. He's a butler, his VA voiced a butler before him. It just made too much sense not to make the joke. Okay. Now to move on to the OMAKE! Thanks again SU.**

* * *

 **A knock at the door sounded throughout the room.**

 **" _Hide the phone!"_ Weiss said.**

 **Asriel quickly shoved the phone under the mattress of Weiss' bed.**

 **"Come in!" he said.**

 **...**

The door burst open, Nora running through it, arms outstretched. Tackling both Weiss and Asriel, she squealed and shouted to no one in particular, "IIIIIIIIIT'S SLEEPOVER TIME!"

"Nora!" Ren called from outside the room.

"What? It was a good idea, wasn't it?" Nora asked, again to no one. Getting off of the two, she skipped back to the rest of them.

The others filed in quickly, already in pajamas.

"What's going on here?" Weiss asked, outraged and colored a very intense shade of red.

"Didn't you hear? SLEEPOVER TIME!" Nora shouted again.

"It was all her idea," Ren said, pointing a suspiciously guilty looking finger at Nora.

"It's all good, Weiss, just go with it," Asriel said, somehow out of his button-up shirt and in his purple robes.

" _Go with it? How? Why?_ "

"Because this has no effect on what happens in canon anyway!" Ruby said, laying out a sleeping bag on the floor.

"In what?"

"You know, the series of events that constitute the plot of a story?" Frisk said, as if it were common knowledge.

"kinda like the cannon balls in a cannon (by the way, really hard to distinguish between the two spellings) and how they have to be shot out of the cannon in order," Sans added, summoning bones to shape a cannon.

"This makes _no sense,"_ Weiss said, folding her arms.

For about another minute, everyone was happily playing games and having fun...until...

-CUT!-

-I appreciate that everyone's trying to have a little fun here, but this is a bit too much. You're all going _way_ off-script!-

-I know things have been a bit hard, and there hasn't been much time for laughs in the latest volume, but that's the tone we're going for. That, and we're a bit tight on the whole "budget" deal. How'd you even pull this off?-

"Well...I _might_ have had to bribe most of the guys doing jobs in the wardrobe department," Ruby said.

-...-

-Good job...Not bad. You know, if this sells any physical copies, we might have something big to put in the outtake reel. Not a bad idea...-

"So...what now?" she asked.

-We'll do the scene again, the right way, and with whatever film we have left, we'll fill it with cheesy gag junk to sell with the real deal. I'll have to consult my second-in-command, and brother, Assistant Director Maibrutherr. In the meantime, let's all take five.-


	25. V4 - C4 - At Home

**A/N:** **Still November, still NaNoWriMo, still putting out more chapters. This one's gonna focus more on Chara and Yang. Resolution to the problem? Maybe...maybe not. You'll know what you need to know when you need to know it. ALL SHALL BE REVEALED...at some point. IN THE MEANTIME, REVIEWS!**

 **SU – I know I said that four linebreaks and however much is** _ **too**_ **much, but you know, whatever. I meant it as a joke. I know you're going to continue doing it regardless of what others say. You do what makes you happy. It might seem like too much for other people, but I really appreciate the lengthy reviews. It really helps me figure out what to do next. You're a pretty influential person in regards to how this is written.**

 **Jack 54311 – Things with Yang will be elaborated on in this chapter. Thanks for clearing up why you chose 54311, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still going to bug the HELL out of me.**

 **Wolf master97 – That was a Black Butler reference. Klein** _ **is**_ **voiced by J. Michael Tatum, who voiced Sebastian in Black Butler's English dub. It seemed too perfect to ignore. In the Omake, I was trying to poke fun at how people use cannon (the weapon) in place of canon (the story events) when meaning to use canon. Sorry if that caused any confusion.**

* * *

"So...you are just _parent of the year_ , you know that?" Chara said, looking at the bird that sat on his armrest.

...

"I have half a mind to gut your bird-ass right now. But I know Yang needs to talk to you. If I were a year and a half younger...buddy... _ **you'd be dead where you stand,**_ " he continued.

This time, it responded.

"You sure talk big for someone in a wheelchair. Can you back up those boasts?"

"Lady, I can do things with a wheelchair that'd make your _soul_ squirm out your _nose_. But I know who you are, so for now, I'll spare you."

"Who am I, then? Enlighten me."

"Raven Branwen. First wife of Taiyang Xiao Long and sister to Qrow. Apparently you've been missing in action for about...14 to 15 years. Funny how you're here in Patch. It looks like I found you."

"So what happens now?"

"Now? Now is when I decide whether or not I wanna tie you to a tree with your own intestines, or bring you to Yang. Right now...tying you up seems like the _forgiving_ option."

"So much variety. Are you sure you're in a position to threaten me?"

"Look. I'm willing to forgive and forget here. If you talk to your daughter, I'll let you go. If you leave again...I'll personally make sure that the rest of your life is _**HELL. You'll be living in fear of THE DEMON THAT COMES WHEN YOU CALL ITS NAME.**_ But Yang's made me feel things...things that I've only ever dreamt of feeling. Love. Happiness. Then, there's all that comes with it. Sadness. The deep-seated HATRED for someone who wronged you. The _deadly, dark, all-consuming RAGE_ of vengeance. So do what you think is best for the both of you. I'm making you an offer you can't refuse."

* * *

The old barn out in the woods was, putting it lightly, falling apart. Years ago, it was a hotspot for Grimm to nest, and wait for its prey to walk in, like Yang had done with Ruby when they were younger. That...was all before Yang had left the house in a rage. They were dead now.

As Chara approached the barn, he noticed how broken the barn looked. The walls had gaping holes in them, the roof looked warped and bent up, and there were Beowulf mask pieces strewn about near the main door. Pushing aside that door, carefully steering clear of the Beowulf chunks, he quietly made his way to her side.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he calmly said, "Hey, Little Matchstick. I bet you're thinkin' about why I'm here. I'm not here tryin' to plead with you to come back to the house. At least...not anymore. Now, I've got someone who wanted to talk with you."

Yang looked up to see a small, black bird sitting on the finger he was holding out to her.

"You're kidding, right, Chara?"

She looked down at her hand. Then she looked up again. Standing in front of her was Raven Branwen. Her mother.

Yang stood up.

She reeled back.

And punched her as hard as she could.

"Okay. I deserved that. Agh, you hit _hard,"_ Yang heard her say.

"Oh, I hit hard, do I? Good. You deserve a _hell of a lot more than that_. You _left me_. When? _When did you decide to leave? Why?_ "

"I had a job to do. You of all people should understand that."

" _A job. IS THAT MORE IMPORTANT THAN RAISING YOUR OWN CHILD?_ "

"No, but-"

" _Then why did you leave?"_

"I...I...don't really...know how to answer that."

" _YOU DON'T KNOW?"_

Chara started backing away. Yang's hair had started glowing. The ground around her had started to light aflame.

" _OH! OKAY THEN! ALL IS FORGIVEN BECAUSE_ _ **YOU DON'T KNOW!**_ _"_ Yang yelled, punctuating her last words with another hook to Raven's jaw.

Feeling a searing in her cheek, Raven sat up. Putting a hand to her cheek, she found a black charred color on her finger. Then Yang jumped on her, pinning her on her back.

" _I'VE LIVED A NIGHTMARE. AND YOU'VE BEEN OUT IN THE WORLD DOING WHAT? A_ _ **JOB?**_ _BEACON IS_ _ **GONE.**_ _OZPIN IS_ _ **GONE.**_ _ALL OF OUR FRIENDS HAVE EITHER DIED OR_ _ **LEFT**_ _TO GO FIGHT SOME_ _ **INSANE POWER.**_ _AND HERE I AM, IN A BROKEN DOWN_ _ **BARN,**_ _WITH_ _ **ONE ARM**_ _, WITH_ _ **YOU.**_ _WHY ARE YOU EVEN_ _ **HERE?**_ _"_ Yang continued. Each word she emphasized was added to with another punch.

By that time, the barn had caught fire, burning brilliantly, a flower of orange, red, and yellow blooming in the midday sun.

Pushing her off her chest, Raven pulled her over her shoulder and ran out of the building. Collapsing at a safe distance from the building, she turned onto her side to face Yang.

"I'm here...because I'm your mother. And I need to start acting like it."

Yang's eyes turned from a bright red to a soothed lilac.

Coming back from where he had fled to, Chara found the two on the ground with an arm around the other's shoulder.

"So...is it a bad time to mention that Ironwood's still waiting for us?" he asked meekly.


	26. V4 - C5 - The Resistance and The Arm

**A/N:** **So I've recently started brainstorming ideas for the Detective Qrow story. Things have been coming along quite nicely thanks to some help from Sakura's Unicorn. There** _ **have**_ **been many other ideas I've been considering, including a RWBY x Dark Souls or Bloodborne crossover collaboration with my brother, who I'll now be referring to as "Assistant Director." MANY ideas have been talked over in a "Brainstorm Thread" that's currently ongoing with Sakura's Unicorn. I think about seven ideas have been discussed so far. That said, now would be a good time to move on to reviews.**

* * *

 **Jgkitarel – Chara has mastered that skill thanks to help from a friend.**

 **JACK 54311 – 54311 IS STILL BOTHERING ME. MY MIND CAN'T HANDLE IT. And don't worry. Yang will have a bit more than** _ **just**_ **a robot arm. I've had this one on the backburner for ideas for** _ **ages**_ **.**

 **SU – I'm guessing you thought Qrow because it was a small black bird, and the only person you've seen who is confirmed to be able to do this was Qrow.**

 **Yang and Chara do both care for each other a lot, but at some points, things get a little heated. This happened to be something Yang ran away to do in one of those points. It was a bit of an A-hole move, but you don't really think about the ramifications of things when you're raging about not being able to fight.**

 **R2-Wheelchair does sound cool, but...it's a bit too much. I was thinking more of just a future-y looking Professor Xavier-esque wheelchair. Sorry to disappoint.**

 **Yang and Raven in the burning barn was something I really liked writing. It felt pretty good to me, and I know it did feel a little cooled, but the emotions are still there. They're just less of what Yang would have been like. It'd be a mess of F-bombs and much worse. Even in the narration.**

 **The whole Fire/Flower thing was a goal of mine to write. I want to compare or liken at least the four of RWBY to flowers at some point, due to the new description for the story.**

 **Yang will be getting the arm soon. Hopefully I can write it into this chapter's ending.**

 **Yaoiprincess101 – Hell hath no fury like an angry Yang. I'd say it makes every bit of sense for Chara to feel a bit scared.**

* * *

"Asriel, Weiss, assorted friends. It's...good to see you again."

"Blake?"

By that time, all nine of the adventurers had the same thought in their head.

 _How did she sneak up on us like that?_

As if she heard their thoughts, Blake said, "Clones can be very handy. Especially when trying to dupe a target or pursuer."

"So that other you over there is..." Weiss trailed off.

"A clone," Blake finished, vanishing the clone in smoke.

Silent exclamations of "That's so cool," or "sweet," among other things were shared throughout the group.

"So...where've you been?" Ruby asked after a poignant break in conversation.

"Menagerie," she answered quickly.

"What've you been up to?"

"I...I've been raising an army."

"To do what?"

"To fight A-...To fight the White Fang."

"Are you going back there now?"

"Yeah. I've got an airship waiting for me. Why?"

"We wanted to join you. Hopefully, if you're too busy to help us, you could at least let us resupply and rest up at your base."

* * *

 ***An airborne journey begins from the top of the world to the bottom. With Blake joining, your team numbers ten. Now, only Chara and Yang need to be collected. With spirits at a record high for the adventure, Menagerie comes into view quickly. Things have been an uphill battle after recovering from the fall of Beacon, but hopefully this marks the crest of the hill. Thinking this, you are relieved. You are filled with Determination.**

Touching down on land, the team filed out and followed Blake to what they assumed was the resistance's base.

It looked...run down to say the least. The ceiling looked battered, the walls were cracked, and the paint was chipping off everywhere it could.

Walking in was even worse. The support columns were bending, and some were even breaking already. The walls were reinforced by steel plates that had been drilled into the wall. Rooms that had walls missing were repaired by stacks of sandbags. In one of those rooms, a squad of faunus dressed in repurposed White Fang armor ran out to a waiting Bullhead.

"...And make sure you kick their asses something awful for our leader!" a gruff, loud voice yelled out supportively.

The group sounded off with a proud, "Sir, yes, sir!" as their ship took flight.

Blake led her visitors into the room, and greeted the man they had heard.

"Hey, Dad."

* * *

"Hey, Dad."

"YANG! Where have you _been_?"

"Don't worry, Tai. I found her," Chara said.

"Yeah, but not without a little help from a little bird," Yang added, jabbing him with her elbow.

"I knew where you were, I just needed to remember where that barn was."

"I can smell some fishy business here, Chara. What's going on?" Taiyang asked in a warning tone.

"This isn't really easy to just tell you, so...ah, screw it, I'll just tell you. Raven's back."

"Oh, good, Raven's ba- wait what?"

A small, black bird sat on the windowsill by the door.

"Damn it, Raven. Why can't you use the door?" Taiyang said, opening the window and letting the bird in.

 _Caw! Caw!_

"That's...not me. That's an actual raven. I've just been here outside, behind these two."

"So what brings you here? Sightseeing?" Taiyang said, trying to change the subject as he released the bird back out of the cabin.

"I'm coming back, and staying here. I heard what happened at Beacon and flew as fast as I could to Patch."

"Oh, you're stayi- _you're staying?_ "

A deep, rough cough brought the attention to a tall, lean man in a white suit.

"What'd I say, Yang. You kept the big guy waiting," Chara teased.

"Alright, calm down, tough guy, I get it. I'll go talk to 'the big guy.' Keep your shirt on...or don't. I'd be okay with either, really," Yang teased back, confidently walking to him, smiling brightly.

In the kitchen, there was nothing out of the ordinary except a small grey box with Atlas' symbol sitting comfortably on the lid.

"So I'm sure you know who I am, Yang."

"You're General Ironwood. The official leader of Atlas' military forces and head of the kingdom's combat school."

"Right you are. I know you've had a hard time adjusting to what happened at Beacon, and your father has told me as much. He and I were good friends back in school, and I owed him a favor, so I thought it would be the perfect time to test something we've been experimenting with."

Opening the box, Ironwood took out the contents.

A steel grey arm with a symbol that looked like a power-button icon cut into the elbow joint.

Pushing a button on the arm lit up the icon, along with several other parts of the arm.

"This arm should hold everything you need to use your old weapon, including a full set of pre-programmed movements for it to do based on your fighting style seen in your bouts at the Vytal Festival Tournament. It also has a few tricks of its own to utilize in conjunction with what you're used to. You'll have to have it enter a "combat mode" first. In order to do that, you'll have to say the unit's name."

"What do I say?"

"Unit, please state your name."

Powering up, the arm jumped onto its base, coming alive and giving what one could only guess was a saluting motion. A familiar voice came from a speaker in the palm.

"Sal-u-tations! My designation is P. E. N. N. Y. Unit 1.5! I am codenamed: Project Penny!"

"And how are you functioning today, Penny?" Ironwood asked, the telltale wisps of a smile crossing his lips.

"I am combat ready!"

"And yes, Yang. It also comes in the color Yellow."


	27. V4 - C6 - Reunion

**A/N:** **So…Yeah. PENNY! Uhh…Yeah. Hey…me and Assistant Director are going to try doing a RWBY x Bloodborne crossover. He's finished Bloodborne now so he's going to start brainstorming with me to…uh…I dunno, make some characters and background. ANYWAY! There's only Hunter, Executioners, Vilebloods, League, Beasts, and Aliens for the covenants. There are definitely more things to build a covenant off of in the game. In the reviews, along with what you think about the chapter, if you know Bloodborne, leave an idea for a covenant. He's already thought of an idea for a covenant that idolizes Ludwig the Holy Blade, either named the "Watchers of the Moonlight," or "Blades of the Darkmoon." I'm not sorry for the Dark Souls reference. It was too good not to, and it makes so much sense.**

 **So I asked around, and it's been decided by a certain crowd of trusted friends on the website that another ship will sail soon. Maybe even this chapter, if the opportunity presents itself.**

 **Okay. You guys are probably gonna think I'm weird for saying this, but the first thing I thought when I saw Blake's dad in the intro animation was "Looks tough. Probably a total softy." Then my brain made this stupidly insane logical leap from "Tough, probably a gentle giant," to "He reminds me of the Gorons from Ocarina of Time." Then I saw his chest hair and thought "Zangief from Street Fighter!" God…I'm an idiot. I love my brain.**

 **100 REVIEWS! YEE YEEEEEEEEEE!**

* * *

A burly, barrel-chested man stood in front of the group.

"Kitten! You're back!" he said, holding his arms out for a hug, which Blake quickly returned.

"I couldn't leave the Resistance to you for long. You'd take down the White Fang yourself and get all the credit," Blake responded, uncharacteristically acting very lively and awake.

"Ahaha! You know me too well! So, Blake, I've heard of your friends from your letters, but are these really them?"

"Yeah. Do you want an introduction?"

"Of course!"

One by one, the group members stepped forward.

Ruby, stepping up first, had introduced herself as the leader of Blake's team at Beacon.

Weiss had followed, saying she was happy to leave for what was sure to be a grander adventure than what was left for her back home.

Team JNPR and Frisk wasted no time with introducing themselves, all in turn calling themselves Blake's friend.

Asriel quickly stated his name and his relation to Blake. His appearance had caught Blake's father's eye. With an interested smirk, he turned to Sans.

"heya. howzit goin'? i'm sans…"

"A skeleton? Is that Dust in its eye? What kind of magic is this?"

"this ain't no magic show, pops. i'm as alive as i was on the day i died."

"A funny man, eh? You and I have lots to talk about."

Just as Sans was about to be pulled to the side to chat, the man realized something.

"Right! I've forgotten to give you my name! I'm Ghira."

Looking out the nearby window, he had noticed the time.

"Do you mind spending the night in the barracks? Space in the main village has gotten to be quite limited."

"Not at all!" Ruby quickly said, dropping her "luggage" on the floor and spreading out on the ground next to it.

* * *

Now a solid group with all problems out of the way, the questing heroes had spent a week to wind down from the stresses of what had happened in Atlas, and much of the general stress of being as far from home as they were with so little hope for a happy future.

On the very edge of the final night of the week, a Rose was planted in her bed, unable to move. Unable to think. Unable to sleep. Then, a light from a window above her head had shone down on the features of her comrades. Moving from face to face, Ruby found a peaceful expression on each one. Then, accented by the moonlight, were a pair of brown eyes looking back at her.

A small yelp died on her lips as she recognized the soothing look the eyes gave her.

"Frisk?"

"Yeah?"

"You're awake?"

"Yeah. Why?"

 _I guess this is as good a time as any,_ she thought.

"I've got some questions."

"Fire away," Frisk said, a sleepy slurring shifting her words.

"What…What would happen if…if one of us died?"

"That's not happening," Frisk quickly answered, much more awake.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I won't allow that to happen. If anyone were to die, I would already be preparing for a reset, or to load a save."

"Okay, you _really_ need to explain that semblance. I don't understand it at all. Is it like…time travel?"

"No. Time travel is the science fiction junk they feed you to make you think that there aren't others like us. My semblance, and Chara and Asriel's semblance have the ability to… _control_ the flow and length of a timeline. If someone were to die, I could _flow_ time back to the Determination point, where saves are marked. If the outcome of a timeline isn't what I wanted, and a small _last save_ change won't save the timeline, I can completely _reset_ my adventure, and go about everything completely differently if I wanted. There could, however, be some small changes, or sometimes even _huge_ changes, like all monsters in the underground being replaced by human versions, and the _monsters_ won the war and sealed _them_ in the underground."

"So…do you guys have different things that make you do certain things to the timeline?"

"That's what makes us and our saves different. I save when I feel proud, happy, calm, or relaxed. I reload a save when someone I call a friend, someone I love, or someone I know to be family dies. Asriel saves on the same criteria as I do, but he'll also save after helping a friend. His loading criteria is also the same, except when he fails to help a friend, he'll load. Chara…is completely different. He saves when he's about to fight, or is… _extremely_ angry. He'll only load if he dies, but that may have changed, now that he has Yang."

"So what's the deal with Sans?"

"He's…an anomaly. Each reset, he retains the memory of the timelines of past Sans-es. Or is it Sans-i? Anyway, any version of him remembers everything that happened in any of the previous timelines. This is the farthest we've been outside of Mount Ebott. No other timeline has gotten this far."

"Why you guys?"

"Trust me when I say that there _are_ timelines where you replace me and Chara. Sans is kinda not comfortable with those timelines. He _knows us_ as _the_ Fallen Children. When others join or replace us, he gets a bit…weirded out. But he did… _take a liking_ to you in those timelines."

"Take a liking to me how?"

"In the kind of way I'd rather not discuss."

"Eugh. Say what you will, the guy's a cool guy and all, but I'm not _that_ into skeletons."

"Tell me about it. I'm much more into living things than glowing…magic… _things_."

"Speaking of, we've been friends since Asriel and Weiss fought in Grimm Studies that one time. Not _one single time_ have I ever seen you try to go for someone. What's the deal?"

"I try not to get too attached to anyone. Leaving their timeline would probably really mess me up if I ever was to fall for someone. Although...as time goes on, I'm finding it increasingly harder to deny feelings like these."

"Sounds like someone needs a good cuddle," Ruby said, getting up from her bed and making her way to Frisk's.

"Yeah…Something comforting like that…I need that right about now. Way too much has happened in not enough time to process it," Frisk said, moving over to accommodate Ruby.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about your 'feelings-problems,' you can talk to me. I'm here for you."

"Thanks," Frisk whispered, turning over and putting an arm around Ruby, falling asleep not too long after.

 ***The feeling you feel…You feel Determined, but…there's something else there. You feel…content. Excited. Scared. You think, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to** _ **save this timeline.**_ **"**

* * *

The next day, an armored official woke Ruby and Frisk with a start.

" _An unidentified flight has landed on a landing pad. The people inside are communicating no interest in harming us. Should we detain them? They said they knew the leader of the group of the Commander's friends."_

Ghira's voice came from outside the room.

"Gather up the Commander's friends and see if they recognize them. If they don't, detain them or be ready to fight."

Not too much later, Sans, Frisk, Asriel, JNPR, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were lined up outside the airship.

The hatch of the ship slid open, and out of it stepped...

"Yang?" the group said, all surprised at the sudden appearance.

"In the flesh! No, wait, scratch that. _Mostly_ in the flesh!" Yang said, pointing to her new arm, now shining a bright golden color in the morning sun.

"And not only that, guys. I'm here too, remember?" said a deep, slightly graveled voice.

 _Walking_ out of the ship, Chara _smiled_. It wasn't just a sneer or an over-confident smirk either. He had a genuine _smile_ on his face as, miraculously, he had somehow regained the use of his legs.

"You miss us?" he asked the group.

...

"I'll take that silence as a yes, then."

"Chara...how are you doing that?" asked Frisk.

"What?"

"Walking."

"Well, see, it's _really_ simple. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other, and _bam_! You're walking!"

"Real funny, _Wise-guy_ , now why aren't you in a wheelchair?"

"You know that Ironwood guy right?"

"I'd rather not know him."

"But you do, so that's great. See, what he did was he gave Yang that snazzy new arm, and he brought me _this,_ " he said, pulling his sweatpants down.

" _Okay,_ nobody needs to see that, Chara," Ruby said quickly.

"What?" he asked indignantly, "I was just showing you _this,_ " he said, pointing to a metal structure that wrapped around his waist, legs, and from what they could see, it moved up to his chest.

"This thing," he continued proudly, "increases my strength to two times what it is normally. That, and it has its own sort of... _trick_ to make my legs _think_ they're working again. It carries electric signals to them and forces them to move according to what I want them to do."

Ghira, eager to speed things along, said, "Why don't we continue this conversation inside? I could show you two around the base. How about it?"

* * *

A quick tour of the base later, and the now fully reunited team had sat down to enjoy the simple comforts of each other's company.

Not a moment after they had sat down had sirens begin to wail.

Opening the door and leaving the building, they saw a fleet of airships and an army of faunus and Grimm.

" _The White Fang are attacking the base!_ "

 ***You are filled with Dread.**


	28. V4 - C7 - The Attack

**A/N:** **Guess who's back. Back again. Guess who's back. Tell a friend. Sup, guys. This chapter, like the other recent ones may be short for want of cliffhangers, but I'm telling you that some major things will happen this time. Also, once again, I'll just say this. Whoever has ideas for Bloodborne covenants that** _ **aren't part of the actual game**_ **please send them my way. If it works with one of the characters, then I'll mention whoever came up with their covenant...at least, when that covenant appears in the chapter. (Yes, that means there'll be multiple chapters of it, effectively making it a full story.) The characters we have so far are Jaune (Taken care of), Penny (You'll see), and Team RWBY...except MAYBE only Ruby and Yang will know each other.**

 **In this chapter, I borrowed a verse from the Musical rendition of "Your Best Friend" by a creator on Youtube named "Man on the Internet." Check it out. They have a really good playlist of about 30 to 32 songs from Undertale that they've put lyrics to, in the context of a musical/play. In the comments of the video, I found this:**

" **How to voice Flowey:**

 **Imagine The Joker trying to sound like Mickey Mouse."**

 **With that out of the way, Happy Holidays and an even Happier New Year to you all.**

* * *

 _Everything..._

 _On fire..._

 _What happened..._

 _That made us deserve this?_

 _ **You know exactly what happened...**_

 _What?_

 _ **Don't sound so surprised, buddy. I'm still here.**_

 _But...how?_

 _ **You think I'll die that easily? Golly, I'd say you underestimated me!**_

 _No. No, you're not real. This isn't happening._

 _ **Believe me, Azzy, buddy. It's real. And this is...**_ **Very. Much. Happening.**

 _Why?_

 _ **Oh, don't get me wrong, pal-o'-mine! I'm friendly this time! At least...as friendly as I can get.**_

 _You didn't answer my question._

 _ **You know what happened. Adam. He did this. He's their leader, isn't he? He set this whole thing up to get to your friends. To hurt them. How does that make you feel?**_

 _Sick._

 _ **He's just gone into the Resistance's base. What are you gonna do about it, buddy?**_

 _What was it you always said?_

" **In** this **world,** it's **kill** or **be** killed!"

* * *

"You, take the west wing of the building. The rest will search the east wing. I'll guard the main hall and see if anyone would be dumb enough to come fight me."

Moments later, someone walked in the door.

" _Howdy!"_

 _ **(Flowey's Theme)**_

"And just who are...you?"

" _Well that's not polite! I know who_ you _are, Adam, but please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Asriel! Prince of the Monsters!"_

"If I remember correctly, the picture I saw of you was much less...plantlike."

" _Oh, don't mind that, buddy! Listen. In Monster culture, friendship and alliance is shown through the exchange of something called...'friendliness pellets!' I've got a few with me! Why don't you have some?"_

"I wouldn't turn down such an influential potential ally."

Pellets flew from the vines encircling Asriel's neck.

" _Be sure to catch them all!"_

Reaching out, Adam's finger lightly grazed the tip of a pellet. His finger felt...warm...a pleasant feeling eliciting memories of a roaring, comforting fire. Then, his finger didn't feel anything at all. Then, slowly, he felt, for some reason, a searing pain in his shoulder.

Looking to where his arm was, he found a bleeding stump.

A scream erupted from his mouth, looking back at Asriel, who was grinning sadistically. In a bouncy tune, he started singing. In his current state, he wasn't much of a singer.

" _Feeling woozy? Good, you're dumb! You fell for my trap, how fun! Down there, there's one rule:_ _ **kill or you'll be killed,**_ _a lesson you'll soon leeeearn! Levels Of ViolencE, that's my kind of_ _ **LOVE,**_ _spread when I_ _ **slash and buuurrrrrrn!**_ _"_

"Everyone! Attack with all you've got! Don't let it escape!" Adam shouted, panting.

The teams Adam had sent to the east and west wings of the main base had reconvened and surrounded Asriel. One of the men, directly behind him, had grabbed his neck.

 _SNAP._

 _Krkrrrk._

" _Aww, now why...would you do..._ _ **that?**_ _"_

Moving limply, as if a zombie, Asriel turned away from the man and shambled towards Adam.

" _And we were just getting to the_ _ **fun part, too,**_ _"_ he said, a vine sprouting behind the soldier, snapping _his_ neck.

...

" _ **WELL? SCRAM! Unless...you want that to happen to you too,**_ _"_ Asriel said maliciously.

They fled.

" _Good. Now, if you don't mind, Adam,_ _ **buddy**_ _, I'll be taking this_ _ **snazzy new arm**_ _with me as a little reminder of our..._ _ **friendship.**_ _"_

* * *

"Asriel! We need to go! Get over here!" Chara yelled from the airship he arrived in.

" _Cooomiiiing!"_ Asriel responded in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, no," Frisk said.

"What?" Chara asked.

"Look at what's over his shoulder."

Adam's arm was nestled comfortably over Asriel's shoulder, naturally folding over his back by the elbow. The fingers were still twitching.

Frisk walked out of the airship and into Asriel's path.

" _Hey, Frisk! Ready to go?"_ Asriel asked casually.

"You're not Asriel."

" _What?_ "

"You aren't him."

Frisk grabbed Asriel, pulling him close into a bear-hug.

"You need some _real_ Love. Not **LOVE**. Now, come on Asriel."

He said nothing, still clutching the arm, but shuffled along, following her.

* * *

"No! No, no, no! This shouldn't have happened! Not this soon! I was sure we could've taken him!" Blake said, hitting herself harder with each successive sentence.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Blake! We've got a plan!" Ruby said, ever optimistic.

"A _plan?_ What _plan?_ "

"We're on a course that'll drop us...relatively close to Haven!"

"How close?"

"..."

"Close enough?"

"Sure!"

Try as she might, she just couldn't help but think that everything would be alright. Ruby knew she had that effect on people.

* * *

Leaving the ship, they saw three figures not too far from them, and a town not too far from there, either.

Getting closer revealed it was Sans, standing next to a little boy, who looked about ten years old, and a tall, metallic-looking, silver-skinned...something.

"heya, guys. i got tired waiting for ya here, so i decided to go mess around with the universe some more. i found these two. thought you ought to meet them."

" **GREETINGS, HUMANS. I. AM. A. STAR. MAN. A MAN. OF. THE STARS,** " said the silver one, slowly, as if speaking for the first time. Its voice sounded distorted...corrupted in some way.

Looking to the boy, the group waited.

" **Hi.** "

A moment of silence passed. He spoke again.

" **I'm Ness.** "


	29. V4 - C8 - The Journey and The Scorpion

**A/N:** **HELLOOOOO EVERYBODY! Just got Dark Souls 3 a couple days ago. I've beaten Iudex Gundyr and Vordt, and I've found my way to the old village at the foot of the High Wall of Lothric. JESU CRISTO that game is hard.**

 **ANYWAYS, last chapter introduced probably my favorite convoluted plot point that's been planned since this idea's inception, with Papyrus' death being a close second to that. Speaking of, I imagined the Starman would talk like Soundwave from the Generation One Transformers cartoon.**

 **Moving on, now begins the shortened version of the journey to Haven. It's kind of a shame that we didn't go to Vacuo at all in this. I had such a good idea for something that could've happened there, involving dust storms, except instead of dust, it would be Dust. I don't really know how it would work, but I really did think of it as a possibility.**

 **I should probably just go with the canon of my Omake and say that the film crew didn't have the budget to film in such dangerous conditions.**

* * *

"So if we decide to believe you, then your story is that…you were bored…"

"yeah."

"...So you just opened a random portal to another timeline, possibly almost destroying what's left of the space-time continuum, and just _stole_ another version of yourself, and some random thing from that timeline. WHY?"

"come on, frisk, gimme a break. i go out for some good, old-fashioned fun _once_ and you act like i'd burnt down a village."

"Sans, this is _not_ a laughing matter. This is _your_ existence, we're talking about! You know what happens if there's an uninformed alternate version of us that meets an informed version! Goodbye Universe!"

"yeah, but i'm me, and any _me_ is always informed. i'm the arbiter of this world, remember?"

"Well…I'm still worried, either way. It doesn't help that there's a younger, alive _you_ joining us for our _seriously dangerous journey_ to what very well could be _certain death._ "

"look buddy. i know that you know that i know that you've had some seriously screwed up stuff happen to you in the underground in all those resets. but i had a pretty decent series of adventures when i was still alive and kickin'. me can handle it."

 ***Putting up with this is going to be a chore. You can already feel that. Although, looking ahead at your not-so-far-away objective, it makes it seem as though things won't be as bad as it is right now. You give Sans a gentle knock on the back of his skull and slow your pace to match the rest of your group.**

* * *

Coming up on a small town, the group of adventurers stopped to look around. Finding nothing around the town, they began knocking on the doors of houses.

No answer.

The houses were searched, and _still,_ there wasn't _any_ sign of life. Not even animals. Not even Grimm.

"What happened here?" asked Ruby.

"Well, that's just it. We all have no idea," Jaune concluded.

"There has to be _some_ clue as to where the people of this village went, though, right?" Blake said.

"An entire village's population, animals, people, and everything else can't just up and _vanish_ , sure. There must be a reason," Pyrrha added.

"Well, we won't get anything found out if we all just stand here. Maybe there are clues up ahead," Asriel said, feeling uneasy at the thought of a deserted village, thinking of what could have caused the disappearance.

All walking out of the village, the team saw someone hunched over, a raggedy beige cloak covering their body. Rushing to the person, they all huddled around them. A flurry of questions flew about their mouths for a moment.

Then the cloaked figure stood and yawned.

"You know, I've been waiting here for a very _long_ time. It was _very_ rude of you all to keep me waiting like that," he said.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked.

"Me? Why, I'm just a lowly traveler, simply trying to get by. _What do you think I am, darling silver-eyed warrior?_ "

"I have a baaaad feeling about this," Asriel said, unintentionally bleating.

The tattered cloak suddenly flew off the man, somehow leaving his shoulders without a single hint of motion from him. His clothes were bloody. Still wet.

 _That would explain where the people of that village went,_ Frisk thought

"Oh, sonny, you _should_ get a chill outta this. I…am Tyrian. And my life belongs only to the goddess!"

"Goddess? What goddess?" asked Chara.

"Surely you must be joking. You've never heard of Salem?"

"Never. She sounds _very interesting_ though. Where could I find her, should I ever want to share in her bountiful power, Tyrian?" Chara asked, trying his hardest to butter Tyrian up.

"Well…I'd rather not say, but…I can't necessarily deny you. You did ask _so nicely_ too. To share in Salem's power, it's best to look to the _start_. All this hate of faunus and monster should _begin_ and _end_ at the _heart._ If you can't find her, it'll sure be a _bore_ , as the resulting chaos could have ended in that _war_."

"Begin…End…Faunus and Monster hate…Start…Heart…Bore…War…Are you giving us clues?"

"You could say that. Then again, you could say a lot of things. Excuse me now, dearest fools, for I simply _must_ be going. Important things need doing!" Tyrian shouted as he left.

* * *

"Okay…What…Faunus and Monster hate…begin and end at the heart. What _heart?_ The _start_ of _Faunus and Monster hate_ …should _begin_ and _end_ at the _heart_. _Bore_ seems irrelevant…he might've just said that to rhyme. Hmm…'the resulting chaos could have ended in that _war._ What war?" Chara mumbled, rambling to himself as he walked.

"Well…Let's think. Why were Faunus discriminated against?" Jaune asked, trying to give Chara ideas.

"I skipped history, genius. You tell me."

"Because they were different from humans. So Faunus and _Monster_ hate _started_ around the time the Faunus civil rights movements started, and around the time the Monsters left the Underground. When was that?"

"Again, I don't know, Jaune. You're the smart one here. _You. Tell. Me._ "

"That was in the immediate fallout from the _Faunus-Human War,_ which famously ends in the signing of a treaty of peace, and an agreement to give the Faunus Menagerie, in an attempt to placate them. That _began_ Faunus-aimed racism. We can _end_ it there, if we knew where it was. Now…where was the treaty signed?"

"Damn it, Jaune, stop doing that! I don't know! Just tell me!"

"The relatively large island off the North-Eastern coast of Vale. Vytal. Vytal just so happens to be in the _center,_ or the _heart_ , of every map of Remnant."

"And that means…"

"That I just figured out Tyrian's clue. Whoever this 'Salem' is, she's operating somewhere on Vytal."

* * *

 **A/N:** **Bit of a short chapter tonight, but I thought I'd get one thing straight before someone tries to correct me. At some point in this chapter, Sans said "me can handle it." I meant for him to say that. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ERROR HERE. Sure, it looks like caveman talk on the screen, but what he means in that sentence is "That version of me can handle it." He's just a jokester, and tried to make it sound funny.**

 **That, and another thing. I'm thinking of ending this story sometime soon. NOT IN LIKE TWO OR THREE CHAPTERS, BUT JUST SOON. And I've been thinking. Does ANYBODY want a "years later" sort of epilogue like I've done with my stupid, less successful stories, or do you want an epilogue highlighting previous or alternate timelines in which people from RWBY are in some way involved in Undertale, or the events of RWBY are impacted by Undertale in a different way, or showcasing an Undertale AU version of this new, RWBY-crossed world?**

 **EXAMPLES FOR REFERENCE: 1. A chapter that takes place about 10 years after the end of the story.**

 **2\. The timeline in which Ruby takes Chara's place as Frisk's companion when travelling through the Underground.**

 **3\. A timeline where the Monsters leave the Underground the SAME YEAR as the start of RWBY's canon, instead of 9 years before.**

 **4\. Underfell/Mafiatale/Underswap/Underfresh except it changes everyone in RWBY too.**


	30. V4 - C9 - Megalomaniac and The Player

**A/N:** **I recently read through the stories DoubleTale and DoubleScramble from the writer XWolf26, and I was genuinely surprised by how well-written it was. The main character, Cter (pronounced Cuh-TERR, as in the ending of the word character), got a little too 'Super-Saiyan-God-Super-Saiyan' at the end of the story for me, but I can forgive because its characters and interactions were so well done. Never before have I ever tried that hard to understand and empathize with a former genocidal freak/spirit/teen. Go read that. It's really good stuff.**

 **Moving on, I'm going to ask again. What do you think I should do for an epilogue?**

 **Idea 1: Timeskip 10 years after the end chapter of the story.**

 **Idea 2: Write a previous/alternate/future timeline in which Ruby replaces or tags along with Frisk and Chara in the underground.**

 **Idea 3: AU where the monsters LEAVE THE UNDERGROUND when RWBY canon STARTS. (Meaning that Frisk will be 8 in this chapter, which means no shipping with her, no Asriel, and no Beacon for Frisk. It'll be like...watching the plot of RWBY from the eyes of a civilian child.)**

 **Idea 4: AU version of RWBY Events. Example: Underswap Ruby would act like Yang, fight like Yang, and dress like her, still having her speed semblance. Underfell Ruby would be even more reclusive, hiding in her cloak for protection from others, trusting only her sister and her closest friends to come near her. Any others, she'll hide and pretend not to exist, or become extremely violent when threatened. Underfresh Ruby...I don't want to think about. It'll make me cringe too hard. Mafiatale Ruby would be the under-aged rookie brought into the family business to 'hunt' the opposing gangs, the 'Grimm,' petty criminals who terrorize the populace, and the rival gang the 'White Fang,' who commit crimes that border on acts of terrorism instead of 'normal' organized crime. Ruby's 'gang' acts kinda like counter-criminals, even sometimes working with the police force to fight the two others.**

 **Now with that out of the way, please enjoy.**

* * *

"Then that means..." Chara trailed off.

"That I just figured out Tyrian's clue," Jaune said triumphantly, his chest puffed out proudly.

"So why don't we go over there and kick their asses now?" Chara asked.

"Hmmm...I don't know, Chara, why don't we think about it for a second? Consider the fact that we were overpowered by Adam and the White Fang. He's only one of her _henchmen_. Think of what she could do to us based on Tyrian's description," Frisk countered.

"So...power up to level Shit-Yeah, _then_ we go kick their asses."

"Couldn't've said it better myself, big guy," Yang said, putting a metallic hand on his shoulder.

"I agree! Reaching a higher level of strength, as you say, 'level...Shit...Yeah?' is a very good idea! I've scanned and analyzed the apparent strength of Tyrian, and our combined power _is_ enough to defeat him. Ruby could deliver a crippling blow to his tail, should he be preoccupied or distracted enough," Penny said, her voice muffled and electronic, slightly distorted by the speaker on Yang's arm.

"Wait. Tyrian had a tail?" asked Chara.

"Yes he did! It was a scorpion tail!"

"How the hell did we not notice?"

"Your eyes were most likely drawn to the blood on his clothes, or to his face. He _was_ talking, after all."

"Well, what do we do now? He's _long_ gone," Chara asked, sounding defeated.

"We keep going on our way to get to Haven. When we find out who or what's there, then we'll focus on training up to fight her," Ruby said in a commanding voice.

"Then I suggest we get going," Frisk added, already starting to move on.

* * *

Walking to Haven was a more laborious task than they had thought. It took about three days to reach a mountain range, and even then, the city was still just across the way through those mountains. At the time, however, they were just entering the forest surrounding said mountains, when a rustling of leaves made its way to the ears of the group's new unofficial bruiser.

"Hold up everyone," Chara said, catching the attention of the others.

"I feel something...A presence. As if...someone's watching us," he continued.

"Isn't that right, Tyrian? I know you're out there!" he called.

"Hmhmhm...quite the smart one, aren't we? I'll have to keep my eye on you. Well, have you solved my riddle yet?" Tyrian asked as he stepped out from the bushes, a toothy grin parading around on his misshapen features.

"Yup. All thanks to some help from our resident history buff, Jaune Arc. So why are you following us?" Chara asked, hostility lacing his tone.

"I simply cannot bear to burden you with my problems, but I must inform you that I am here on business. The Goddess has need of the Silver Eyes...And one of her cohorts. Preferably, the squinty one in the red-gold striped sweater. Now, you can do this in one of two ways. You can let me have them, and walk away peacefully, or we can do this the fun way, and fight it out," Tyrian said, seemingly hoping they would choose his 'fun way.'

"Tyrian, look. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. I'm trying desperately to be more of a peaceful man. I can't do that with people fighting me all the time."

"Oh, but I think you'll fight _me._ "

"And what makes you think you'll get me to fight you?"

"Well, see...I can do that with a simple flick of the wrist."

"Then let's see you flick your wrist."

As quickly as he appeared, he sprinted towards Chara.

Then...he jumped over him...next to Yang. Landing, he wrapped a length of hair into the crook of his arm and then, _with a simple flick of the wrist,_ he cut her mane down to the length just below her shoulders.

Positively _on fire,_ Yang looked ready to kill. Turning around and activating her new arm, energy built up in the palm. Spinning around to attack, she was quickly stopped by Chara.

"YANG!"

"WHAT?"

"Don't do this. This is my fight. He challenged _me._ Not you. Stand back. You'll get your satisfaction, alright. Besides..."

Blinking slowly, his brown eyes shifted to blood red. Cracks began to form in his skin, shining bright with a whitish-pink light. Magic knives formed around him, floating above his head. He grinned...maniacally.

 ***I HAVE TO TEACH THIS CREEP A LESSON.**

* * *

Circling each other, Chara and Tyrian stared each other down, eyes locked. One could feel the electricity in the air as Chara pulsed with latent power.

"You scared, kid?" Tyrian asked, his giddy grin never leaving his face.

 ***YOU WISH.**

"You should be."

 ***** _ **YOU**_ **SHOULD BE.**

Suddenly, they both charged at each other, neither letting up their assault. Blow-for-blow, they matched each other's attacks perfectly. Jab after jab, high kick after high kick, they were at a stalemate, and the match was only beginning.

 ***YOU WANNA KNOW SOMETHING, TYRIAN?**

"Why, of course I would. What is it you'd like to tell me?" Tyrian responded mockingly, dodging a flying knife aimed for his head.

 ***I ALWAYS HATED SCORPIONS. TOO MANY LEGS, AND TOO MANY OF THEM STILL ALIVE. THE VARIETY AND SIZE NEVER HELPED EITHER.**

 ***AND THEN ONE DAY I REALIZED SOMETHING.**

 ***YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT THAT IS?**

"Sure," Tyrian said, his voice detailing his lack of understanding.

 ***I REALIZED...**

 ***SCORPIONS AREN'T SO BAD...**

 ***AS LONG AS THEIR STINGER'S BEEN TRIMMED.**

A loud, meaty _thwack_ noise sounded out, followed by a _thud_.

A blood curdling scream rang out in the forest. Flocks of birds fled from their perches.

Huffing and panting for his breath, the shock finally came to him after his initial pain. Tyrian had realized his tail had been cut off.

"So what do you plan to do with me, hm? Cut me open and tie me a hangman's noose from my large intestine? Sounds positively...delicious."

 ***NO. THAT'S MERCIFUL. EVEN FOR YOU. I THINK YOU DESERVE SOMETHING MORE.**

Grabbing a knife from the air above him, Chara quickly shoved it into the stub where Tyrian's tail used to be, eliciting a yelp of _genuine fear_.

 ***I THINK YOU'D BE BETTER OFF JUST DYING IN A PUDDLE OF YOUR OWN BLOOD. ALONE. WITHOUT YOUR PRECIOUS** _ **GODDESS**_ **TO SAVE YOU.**

Twisting the blade and scooping out the remaining meat and bone in Tyrian's tail, Chara grinned even wider.

 ***SO I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'LL DO.**

 **His tail now a geyser of blood, Tyrian collapsed as Chara walked slowly away. He wasn't breathing.**

 ***BATTLE WON**

 ***EXP EARNED: var_undefined_ERR**

 ***YOUR LV HAS INCREASED!**

 ***LV: var_undefined_ERR**

* * *

The rest of the day's walk was left in a stunned silence.

When it came time to set up sleeping bags to camp for the night, Ruby looked to Chara with a certain unease.

"Scary, right?" she heard.

"Yeah…" she said, marveling at him as if he were some rare animal you'd find in a zoo's showcase.

Frisk crouched down to meet Ruby's eyes.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"Uhh…umm…" Ruby struggled to find words. _Am I really this awkward?_ She thought.

"Well?"

"Uh…after Tyrian…you know…" she made a motion of someone kicking something, grabbing their throat, and keeling over, "I, uh…I saw this box in front of Chara. It had letters and numbers on it, I think. What was that?"

"Do you want the long explanation or the short one?"

"Whichever gives me the most information."

"Then the long one it is. Okay. There are different personal attributes that make up a soul. Some souls are souls of **INTEGRITY** or souls of **BRAVERY,** or other, dominating personal traits. Chara, Asriel, and my souls are all souls of **DETERMINATION.** More often than not, there are certain souls that attract an adventure. A **STORY** , I suppose. Before we left the underground, the souls that attracted the adventure were ours. We, as souls of **DETERMINATION** have the power to **SAVE, LOAD,** and **RESET. Have you ever woken up to find yourself feeling a strong sense of déjà vu?** That comes from our saves and resets. They're familiar because you **have** already done what you were doing, and just disregarded it as something strange."

"But why is it happening to me? Why did I see that box? What type of soul am I?"

"To answer your question, I'll have to take a look…You're...a **COMBINATION** soul. A soul with two or more dominating attributes. You are a half-red-half-green soul. A soul of **DETERMINATION** and **KINDNESS. You can SAVE and LOAD, and you can HEAL on demand.** Sans, Chara, and I have found a classification for people like me, Chara, and Asriel. We call them: **PLAYERS.** These are particularly important or strong souls, and they can be anything. Human, Faunus, even a Monster can be one."

"So you're saying that…"

"See, me and Chara were the **PLAYERS** of our **GAME.** But now that we've had our **GAME,** we aren't in control anymore. We can just affect what happens with _our_ saves and loads. But since we aren't the **PLAYERS** , we can't **RESET.** Now, Ruby, yes. That means _you_ are the **PLAYER** now. And we're going through an entirely **NEW GAME.** "


	31. V4 - C10 - The Guide and The Remorseful

**A/N:** **So last chapter must have some people asking questions. What does "var_undefined_ERR" mean? Well, see...It's supposed to mean that Chara gained enough LV that, by the GAME's parameters, he is an entity with an impossible amount of LV. He's basically gained infinite LV. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! He has reached the fabled level known as...Shit-Yeah.**

 **Oh, and Ruby's a PLAYER now, so she's pretty much the Frisk of this NEW GAME they're in. But...the choices are more ambiguous. There are moral high-grounds on both sides, and nobody can prove who's right. Although...there is a third option. A...middle way, you could call it.**

 **She'll have to forge her own path now.**

* * *

 ***Hey.**

 _Huh?_

 ***Hello?**

 _Who's there?_

 ***It's difficult to hear you. Are you Ruby?**

 _Yes._

 ***I think that was a yes.**

 _Who wants to know?_

 ***Hm?**

 _I asked who wanted to know!_

 ***I...can't tell you. It would only make things worse.**

 _What? What do you mean?_

 ***Like I said. I can't tell you. All you need to know is that I'm here to help. I can...help you figure me out on your own, though. I could give hints.**

 _Like how?_

 ***Well...I knew you once. Since I last saw you, a lot has changed.**

 _Sure._ That _explains things a lot better._

 ***What else can I do? I've simply been called upon to assist you.**

 _So what are you here for?_

 ***Frisk has her guide, and so do Chara and Asriel. You, being what they call a PLAYER now, needed a guide. Whatever controls what happens here saw fit to have me do it. Trust me when I say I would be ecstatic to do so.**

 _Whatever you say._

 ***...**

 ***How about we wake up now, okay?**

 _Five more minutes..._

 ***I can perform a CHECK on you, you know. I can see you're perfectly well-rested.**

 _Fiiiine._

 ***Gaster said nothing to me about just how much you've changed.**

* * *

"Hey. Look who's awake!"

"Oh, is she, now?"

 _Huh? Who is that?_

 ***Open your eyes.**

 _Thanks. Because I couldn't figure that out on my own._

 ***Do you not** _ **want**_ **help? Because that can be arranged.**

Standing over Ruby were a pair of...what looked to be humans. She couldn't quite recognize them. Everything was just...too bright.

"Wake up, lazy-butt. We've got to keep going, and we can't have our _leader_ sleeping in on us."

"I'm sorry, but...I'm not really sure who you are," Ruby said, getting straight to the problem.

"Oh. Right. About that. Now that you've been designated as **PLAYER** , you've received a 'guide.' Am I right?"

"How did you know that? Are you that 'Gaster' they mentioned?" Ruby asked.

"Heh. No. See, since you got your guide, there's been a side effect. You've temporarily forgotten all of your memories. It'll just take a moment to come back to you."

Eyes adjusting, Ruby found the faces of the two.

"You're...Frisk...and you're her...brother...Chair-a?" Ruby asked.

" _It's Chara._ You tried," he responded

"Well, don't beat her up about it! At least she knows _who_ we are," Frisk defended.

"Well then maybe you can just...shut up!"

"I won that argument and you know it."

"No...Shut up...You didn't win."

...

 ***Your INVENTORY fills with REGAINED MEMORIES.**

...

"Huh...Is that supposed to happen, guys?" Ruby asked.

"That's the message _I_ got. You remember why you're here?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah...Beacon. Papyrus. Salem. I remember."

"Well, everyone else decided to go on up ahead to Mistral. Why don't we start walking?" Chara asked.

"Sure..." Ruby said, making sure she and him had a minimum space between them.

"What?" Chara said indignantly.

"You...killed him...Tyrian."

"Oh _come on._ I've done it before. Plenty of times. You think that was any different?"

"That _wasn't_ a Grimm! That was another _human being_! How could you _do_ that?"

"I TOLD YOU ALREADY! I've...I've done it before. Don't act so high and mighty. He would've done the same to me if I hadn't been prepared to do it to him. You ever wonder why I had so much LV before this?"

"I...I don't...I never did."

" _Welcome to the real world,_ Ruby! Everything here is horrible and cruel, and nobody cares when you _shit on someone's hopes and dreams_ to get what you want! When a tree falls in the woods, does anyone hear it? Or, if nobody did, then can we make the argument that there _was no tree in the first place?_ This is _horribly_ inconsequential compared to some of the other things going on out there! There is a _real_ demon out there that _leads_ the Grimm! What are you gonna do when you fight her, huh? _Talk to her_?"

"..."

"I shouldn't've said that...Look...I'm sorry. I just don't want you to see me any different from what I was before all that. Please...don't turn me into something I'm not. I was...I just wanted to protect...something. I wanted to help. Yang...she's...she's angry...I just...I'm so _sorry_."

 **And then, he began to cry.**

* * *

The three of them made their way to Mistral, and upon finding their way there, they made their way around to find the academy there. Taking what they thought was a shortcut, they cut through an alleyway.

 ***A chill runs down your spine. Someone's here. Smells like...burnt steak.**

Turning the corner, they found a body. The skin was charred to a crisp, and the hairs on the body stood on end. The clothing was only torn and singed. It looks as if the body was electrocuted.

"Ah...I sincerely wished you hadn't stumbled upon this. Simply barbaric. So sorry. It seems I'll have to do the same to you."

 ***Doctor Watts blocks the way!**

* * *

"Where are they?"

"I don't know, Yang, all of my calls are being ignored."

"Well, then do something, Az! We can't just sit here and wait for them! They could be in trouble!"

"What do I do?"

"I don't know! Just do something!"

"They haven't been gone for long, they could just be running late!"

"They should be here by now, so I've decided that they're in danger. I'm gonna find them."

"Wait!"

But by that time, she had already left the rest of the group.

 _Damn it. I'm mad at him right now, but for some reason, I feel like he needs me. If it's reached that point, then I'd say I'm at the point of no return. I can't stay mad at him anyway. That creep_ _ **did**_ _cut my hair._

"CHARAAAA!" she called out into the night.


	32. V4 - C11 - Death's First Passenger

**A/N:** **So yeah. Stuff happened. Ruby has her guide, Chara's all** _ **broken up**_ **over him and Yang being possibly** _ **broken up,**_ **and Watts is here to be a dick. Oh, and Yang's totally fine with her boyfriend being a murderer. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I mean, his brother's name is an anagram for** _ **serial murderer**_ **, so I don't know what she was expecting. Welp...**

 **MOVING ON.**

 **Ideas 1 and 2 are being scrapped, as I am unable to write any timeskip epilogue without making it a Mary-Sue-cross-Super-Saiyan-God-Super-Saiyan carnival. And two is just...I'm not really sure what I _could_ do for that.**

 **Ideas 3 and 4 are still under development. I have a...prototype...for Idea 3, and two different "chapters" of Idea 4, both being a different AU from each other. One is UnderFell, and the other is UnderSwap. I don't think I'm quite done with Idea 4 yet, as I still want to do MafiaTale and hopefully...something else, because UnderFresh hurts my eyes. Anybody have any recommendations as to what I should do for a fourth AU? I'm open to anything as long as it's...Safe For Work.**

 **So now, with that out of the way, please...**

 _ **Enjoy.**_

* * *

"Ah...I sincerely wished you hadn't stumbled upon this. Simply barbaric. So sorry. It seems I'll have to do the same to you."

 ***Doctor Watts blocks the way!**

 _What do we do, guys?_ Ruby thought.

 _Same as we always do. Wing it and hope for the best,_ Chara thought in response.

 _Is now really the time for this, guys? We have an enemy to get past!_ Frisk yelled in her mind.

 ***ya know, kiddo, it almost seems like they don't wanna get along, don'tcha think?** said Chara's guide.

 ***Tell me about it, bud. It** _ **is**_ **understandable. Your charge killed someone, and now everyone else is on edge.** said Ruby's guide.

 ***ain't my fault.** Chara's guide responded.

"Enough standing around, youngsters. Time for a _shock_ , _"_ Watts said, holding a hand outstretched, with a ball of electricity floating in his palm.

 ***CHECK**

 ***Seems like he has Dust infused in his hands. Be careful. He's about as strong as some of the Boss Monsters your friends faced.**

 ***yeah. this guy ain't no joke...though he's got some great punnin' chops.**

 _NOW ISN'T THE TIME, GUYS. LESS TALK, MORE FIGHT,_ Chara thought, directing it to whoever was "guiding" them.

A great ball of yellow light shot towards them, but just as the light was about to hit, a portal opened up.

"GET THE HELL BACK HERE YOU GRUBBY, COWBOY ASSMUNCH!" said a scruffy looking youth running out of the portal.

Both parties fighting suddenly stopped and stared. Even Watts was in _shock_.

"..."

 ***...**

 ***...**

 _Wow. Talk about an entrance,_ Frisk thought.

"Huh...Ah, shit. This place looks like the wrong timeline...however freaking awesome this place may be. Welp...oops. Uhh...hey," the scruffy teen asked, "who should I be rooting for here?"

"For me-" Watts said, being interrupted.

"For us!" said Chara, motioning to him and his friends.

"Hmmm...You," they said, gesturing to Chara, "look familiar...if a little more masculine than what I'm used to. You must be Chara."

"What? Well, who the hell are you?" Chara responded.

"I feel like I know you..." Frisk trailed off.

"Hey, look at it this way," they said, pulling his sweatshirt's hood down and pulling out a pen, "somewhere, somehow, some _time_ , you _do_ know me."

"Are you almost done with your...heart-to-heart? I'm on a strict schedule here, and I'd rather not be late," Watts said.

"Screw you, I'll take as long as I want!" he said. "Anyway, I should be getting back to my _own_ timeline. My...'friends' oughta be worried sick about me."

Swinging his hand in front of him, another portal opened up. Before he walked into it, without looking, he said to Ruby, "You know, Red, there are a lot more people in the multiverse like you. Thrust into adventure without wanting it. Just know that they'll have your back, should you ever need it. Hell, I've got a legion of other versions of me _lining up_ to help me if I ever screw up."

"Are you done yet?" Watts interrupted.

"I was just leaving, Pringles Man. Here. Take this _parting gift,_ " he said, throwing a pen at him as he left through the portal.

Reacting too slowly, the pen shot into Watts' shoulder and hung there. The tip had a hardened ink-blade covering it.

"I'm...not quite sure who that was, or why he was here, but I _am_ sure he's made me plenty _madder_ ," Watts said, holding his shoulder as he charged another bolt of electricity.

* * *

Yang ran through the streets of Mistral, searching every alley, every nook, and every possible place she could think her sister could be. Coming upon a sinister smell, she turned down the alley it came from and saw a scorched corpse.

"Then you'd better get ready for a fight! I'm going Tesla on your ass! We aren't screwin' around anymore! Alternating current time! Delivering a _powerful_ beating to you from _all different directions!_ "

There was only two other people she knew who could pun that horribly in the middle of a fight: Sans and Chara. And Sans never had that much energy.

Jumping in to join the fight, she butt in with, "Yup! And I'm here to back him up with some _Direct current shocks_! I'm comin' _straight for ya!_ "

Readying their weapons, they both charged at him. Yang hit first, fist flying straight for his face as Chara circled around to hit him at the back.

As the pummeling went on, it only got worse. Watts truly never stood a chance. Yang's explosive hits dealt searing blows all around, and Chara's slow, slugging hits bruised him all over. The two continued beating him down as he had no other option but to take it. They wouldn't allow him the chance.

Hitting the ground as a small break in the fight occurred, Watts felt the two waiting for him to get back up.

"So...this is how it ends, then. Face-down on the concrete of a ruin I never got to see. So be it. I always considered myself more an intellectual than a fighter. I'm not that surprised."

"You aren't dying on us yet, Watts. You have very... _valuable_ info we can use. So spill it. Are there any others like you?" Chara commanded.

"Ah...is there anything in this for me?"

"A quicker death," to everyone's surprise, Yang said.

"So that's how it is, then. Well, to answer your question, yes. There are. I am at liberty to list three. Cinder, whom I assume you are _all_ very familiar with, Hazel, who you have not met yet, and Tyrian, who was supposed to stop and capture two of you."

"Tyrian's dead, mustachio."

"Oh, is he? I had wondered when his recklessness would get him killed. Good riddance, I say."

"I'll bet you'd say a whole lot more if we showed you his body," Chara said malevolently.

"I have every intention of seeing the man myself when I die. I'll give him your regards, O merciless one."

"You're a funny guy. I think we shoulda kept you around longer. It's a shame you had to pick a fight with us," he said as he turned his back on Watts, walking away.

"Chara, what are you doing?" Yang asked.

"I can't be the exterminator for _all_ the pests we have to deal with. Sometimes, matters are best resolved when taken into your own hands. Besides, I'll bet you've got some pent up aggression since Tyrian cut your hair."

...

"I guess so, yeah."

Yang walked closer to Watts, who was now kneeling, his hands behind his back. It looked like he had no intention of fighting back.

 ***It seems he's accepted his fate. Ruby, please don't do what I think you're going to do.**

"Yang, wait!" Ruby shouted.

 ***Ruby, please! Don't do this!**

"I can't let you do that. I don't want this on your conscience. These people are after me. It's my responsibility."

"Ruby, are you-" Yang began.

" _I'll do it!_ "

"Ruby, I can't-"

"If you don't want me to do this, we can just let him go back to his leader, where she's sure to hear of it, and send more after us. Do you want that?"

"No, but I don't want you to-"

" _Well, too bad!_ This is what the world is, Yang. We can't change that. All we can do is stop Salem and hope everything is alright in the end."

Not listening anymore, Ruby took out her weapon and shifted it into the scythe she had used to cut down so many Grimm. She slowly walked behind Watts and brought the blade up to his neck.

"Are you sure about this, Miss?" he said, asking for reassurance, unsure if she would go through with it.

"There's no other way. I'm sorry," she said, her eyes covered by shadows.

A shot rang out through the evening air.

Finding something amidst the pool of blood, she picked it up.

"Come on, guys. Let's go find Haven," she said after a moment, her breath more ragged, and her voice wavering.

 ***You found the Item: Otherworldly Pen.**


	33. V4 - Finale - SOUL

**A/N:** **Hey guys. I kinda figured the art contest would flop, so I've decided to just keep going with the story. This'll be the finale for V4, but it'll be more of a set up for the plot of the ending Volume, V5. Also, in my head, Professor Lionheart is voiced by Dave Fennoy.**

 **As sidenote, I just finished playing Final Fantasy 15, and I'm currently thinking of a way to mix that with RWBY somehow. I know Ardyn would absolutely team up with Salem on a quest for revenge, Ardyn against Lucis, Salem against Oz and the schools for whatever reason.**

 **Salem: Who** _ **are**_ **you?**

 **Ardyn: A simple traveler, blazing his wayward trail across the world.**

 **Salem: And what is it you want?**

 **Ardyn: Me? Why, that's not important right now, but please, do tell me what you'd like. I'd** _ **love**_ **to hear what you had in mind.**

 **Just a little sample for you.**

 **Just as a reminder, I'm not going to be using my drafts as the final piece for the epilogue. I need people to suggest AUs to do. I do like my ideas for Underfell and Underswap, but I need something other than Mafiatale to finish up the little trilogy of Timelines before the final, best ending. Mafiatale isn't the best way to link to the end. The characters have to suffer a little more before getting their happy end. Action vs. Consequence, peeps. That's how it's gotta work. If anyone knows an AU you'd like to see featured in the Epilogues, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LEAVE IT IN A REVIEW.**

* * *

"Come on, guys. Let's go find Haven."

"…"

Nobody moved.

"Guys?" Ruby said, sounding worried.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it, Ruby," Yang said, breathless.

"Ruby, I respect the hell outta you for doing that for Yang, but…just an hour ago, you were going off on me for killing Tyrian? What happened?" Chara asked.

"You were right. There's no reasoning with these people. They're as soulless as the Grimm. Mercy…just isn't an option at this point. It's not something we can afford to gamble with. I've just had to come to terms with that. It doesn't feel good, and it kinda makes me feel a little sick, but it's what has to happen," Ruby said.

"Ruby…I understand where you're coming from. Fighting to protect something is definitely a reason to fight. So let's try and reason with them, and if that doesn't work, don't feel bad about having to fight them," of all people, Frisk said, surprising everyone there.

"Okay."

Gripping the pen tighter, she put Crescent Rose back in its holster and walked towards the building at the top of the hill.

* * *

Upon arriving at the gates of the academy, the team was welcomed by large, lightly colored wooden doors. Those doors opened up to reveal a garden of vibrant flowers, beautifully arranged rock beds, and calm ponds. A man stood very still in the center of the garden, his eyes closed in what seemed like a meditative trance.

"Good morning. I was informed of your arrival," he said.

"By who? We haven't told anyone where we were going," Jaune asked.

"Your arrival here was foretold by the migration of a single black bird. A Raven flew across the continent alone. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Not one of them responded. Either he was psychic, or they were just that obvious.

"Well, I suppose I should drop the act and get down to business. Leo. Leo Lionheart, Professor and Headmaster here at Haven academy," he said. He was a tall, lanky man, but at the same time, he was as muscular as he could be, his strong, rough, dark skin showing quite obviously through the tight white button-up shirt he wore. The fleeting twilight shone brightly on the dark orange of his hair, arranged in a style similar to a lion's mane, which highlighted the stony grey in his eyes.

"Hello, sir. I'm Asriel, prince of the monsters. With me, I have Frisk and Chara Dreemurr, Sans, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Ness, and Starman."

"Well…quite a diverse crew you have here. You lead all of them?"

"I'm sort of the impromptu leader at the moment, yeah. We…take turns whenever it's convenient."

Headmaster Lionheart smiled at that. He had a plan. He thought to himself that he might be able to turn sour grapes into sweet wine.

"Come with me. I've got something important to show you. If I remember from the reports Ozpin sent me before he went missing, your friend Pyrrha has half of the power of the Fall Maiden, is that correct?" he asked.

Pyrrha stepped forward and waved her hand at the leaves of the tree in the garden. The leaves turned a myriad of colors, and began to shed from the trees rapidly.

"Well, you seem to know what to do with it, but…it also seems…incomplete. You must have to have the other half of the power before you can properly control it. In that case, I think we can fix our problem."

* * *

Lionheart took the team into the building, opening secret wall panel after secret wall panel until they snaked their way around a maze of secret doors to the point where it ended. In that end, they found a machine Jaune and Pyrrha remembered well.

There were two pods, both having pipeworks and wires that reached up to the ceiling and beyond.

Frisk recognized it as well. She remembered very clearly what happened to the girl Pyrrha received her powers from.

 ***Remembering that you still have a long journey until your adventure reaches an end, you are filled with Determination. Save…unavailable.**

Ruby looked long and hard at the strange machine, trying to make sense of it.

Lionheart walked over to a console next to a pod, which tilted upwards to reveal someone laying in it.

"Whoever you've been fighting must really like fairy tales. This is the Spring Maiden. She was attacked, but none of her power has been stolen. Sadly, the enemy managed to fatally poison her. We have two options. Someone here gets in the other pod and has the powers transferred to them, or we let her die, track down the new maiden and hope she's on our side."

 ***Well, Ruby, what are you going to do?**

 _I'm not so sure about this._

 ***Why not?**

 _It just doesn't feel right._

 ***It's your call. I'm not really allowed to influence your decisions.**

"Sir, I-" Ruby began.

"I'll do it. Ruby, if you lose your soul in this, no more **RESETs** _ **.**_ It's best if I do it. That way, we can just load a save if I lose my soul," Frisk said, trying to reassure both Ruby and herself.

"What? But…No! No, don't do it!"

"Why not? It's our best possible chance at some good results."

"I don't want to see your soul die as you get taken over by someone else. You're my friend, and I can't bear to see something like that happen to you."

"Look, Ruby, I know what you're saying, and I understand, but we need to-"

"I love you."

"Pardon?"

"That's why I don't want you to do this. I'm going to be forced to watch you hurt yourself for the sake of _maybe_ just getting power and remaining yourself. If your soul can't take it, I'm going to have to live with the fact that every move you make, every smile on your face, and every word out of your mouth won't be yours. It'll be someone else's. I can't do that."

"Ruby, I promise you that I will make it through this. Don't worry."

"You don't know that, though."

A stream of tears slid their way down her face.

"I don't want to lose you," she said.

…

"I love you too. And that's why I have to do this."

Frisk pulled Ruby into a tight hug.

 ***You feel the warmth of Frisk's Determination against you. It's comforting. You feel a surge of Kindness.** _ **GAME SAVED.**_

* * *

 ***Feeling strangely chilly and groggy, you wake up to find you are in bed, alone. How long has it been since that day? Two years?**

"Don't ask me. You should know."

 ***Where's this coming from?**

"I'm honestly not sure myself. Go rummage around in my brain some more. Let's see if you can't find any more depressingly repressed memories."

 ***Gee, never pegged you to be the 'bitter loneliness makes you cynical as all hell' type.**

"Looks are very deceiving, whoever you are."

 ***I can tell you're hurting, Ruby. What's wrong?**

"Let's make a list, shall we? I'm talking out loud to a voice in my head only I can hear, All of my friends have gone off _together_ somewhere to go train while I'm busy feeling sorry for myself, I still don't know who you are, and I just want to know if she's okay."

 ***I'm** _ **your**_ **guide for a reason. Tell me what you want, and I can try and help as much as I can.**

"How about you tell me how my friends are doing?"

 ***Your team is still back in Mistral, training in Haven with each other. Everything seems to be looking up for them.**

 ***Team JNPR is back in Vale, assisting any Council forces with the cleanup and recapturing of all territory in Vale city.**

 ***Ness and the Starman are still with Sans, Asriel, and Chara, all back in Mistral with your team.**

 ***I can't seem to find Frisk.**

"I thought you'd say that."

 ***Wait! Check your door!**

"Why? I'm pretty much the only person who lives on this island any-"

 _Ding._

 _Dong._

"…more. Who is that?"

 ***Why don't you find out?**

"YOU ARE _SO_ HELPFUL! THANK YOU _SO_ MUCH!" she shouted to nobody as she threw her hands in the air in frustration, shuffling her way to the door of the cabin.

"Knock Knock," said the voice outside the door.

Humoring them, Ruby responded, "Who's there?"

"Dishes," they said.

" _Dishes_ not funny. Now tell me who you are."

" _Dishes_ a bit of an awkward situation. Have I come around at a wrong time?"

" _Tell me…who you are._ I won't ask again."

"But I'm just here to-"

" _I couldn't give less of a shit about why you're here! Tell me who you are!_ "

 ***Just open the door, Ruby.**

So she did.

In front of her was a girl of about 19 years of age, two years older than her, with brown hair, a red and gold striped sweater, black sweatpants, and now, _glowing green eyes_.

"It's me. I'm back, Ruby."

"Frisk…You…You're alive," she said, tearing up.

 ***Your senses feel a flood of relief. You grab hold of her and keep her close, making sure not to let go. That same warmth you felt two years ago hasn't left her. It's still Frisk. She survived.**

 ***I guess happy endings are real after all.**

 ***Speaking of, we should probably go kick ass, and leave the romantic stuff for after everyone's happy.**

"You know, Ruby, your guide's right."

"I don't care. We're gonna be staying here for a while. I've had enough almost dying for the past two years. I'd rather have an evening of peace before we jump out of the toilet and into the shitstorm."

* * *

 **A/N:** **So…yeah…shippy stuff. Also, Frisk's a Spring Maiden now…yaaaaaaaay.**

 **I played through RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. WHY. WHY IS THE FINAL BOSS JUST A MUTANT DEATHSTALKER AND TWO ANNOYING ROBOT ENEMIES. WHY IS THIS OKAY. Okay…NOT ONLY DOES THIS DISRESPECT RWBY AS A SERIES, BUT IT DISGRACES THE NAME OF THE GENRE OF CHARACTER ACTION GAMES. Character Action games are supposed to be like Bayonetta, or…uh…Bayonetta 2…or…The Wonderful 101…Yeah…They should have called it a "Story-Driven Action-RPG." It's got RPG elements, and it plays…kinda similar to a Kingdom Hearts game. Although, that would be insulting Kingdom Hearts. It's probably like TMNT Mutants In Manhattan, where the bosses that are total damage-sponges in singleplayer are a heckin' good time easier in multiplayer. I'll bet you anything they didn't even make a character model for Dr. Merlot. HE ONLY SHOWS UP IN THE COMMS AND ON TVs IN THE LAST 2 LEVELS.**

 **ANYWAY. Seriously this time. I NEED PEOPLE TO SUGGEST AUs for me to do in my Epilogue. GUYS, SERIOUSLY WHAT DO? I'll honestly even take RWBY AU's and apply them to the Undertale cast, that's how desperate I am for another AU to use in the epilogue, and for the love of whatever lies beyond (I personally believe Bahamut will rain down Ultima Blades on the day of reckoning, and saving those who are worthy), PLEASE don't say Underfresh.**


	34. VF - Prologue

**A/N:** **Oh boy is it good to be back. Hey guys, if you didn't notice, which I highly doubt, there's an actual chapter for chapter 33 now, so YAY. Also you're getting a much quicker return to the story than when I broke off for Volume 4. ALSO YAY. For those of you living in the future, and have no idea what I'm talking about, pay absolutely no attention to all this. YAY?**

 **Welcome to the final volume, everyone. Volume 5. Or as I'll call it from now on, VF, or Volume Finale.**

 **Welcome to two years after the events of Volume 4. In the end of that volume, Frisk came back to Ruby, alive and well, with both souls intact. Now we dive into the World of Remnant as we now know it, plunged ever deeper into darkness as the Grimm threaten to take hold. Ruby, exhausted and traumatized, stayed home in Patch after the island evacuated to a safe zone in the city of Vale. Now with Frisk back with her, she simply wants one night to pretend she was once normal. To pretend that none of the crazy things that happened had happened.**

 **Welcome. To the Prologue.**

* * *

 ***Aww…how adorable…**

 _Shut up._

 ***What? Why can't I say how I feel?**

 _Because I'm enjoying the moment. Something I've sorely missed since I left everyone back in Mistral._

 ***But this is just too much! Two years and she was completely fine! You left for no reason, and now she's come to** _ **your**_ **house, sat down on** _ **your**_ **couch, and fell asleep on** _ **your**_ **chest. I'd be crying laughing at the irony here, but I have to say, this is a picture perfect moment.**

 _Don't you dare._

 ***Despite your definitely apparent anger, you feel a surge of Kindness flow through you as Frisk pulls you in tighter. You are fully healed, and your game has been saved.**

 _Damn it._

 ***Watch your language.**

 _I'll say what I want. What, are you gonna 'Determination' a soap bar into my mouth?_

 ***Lemme tell ya, I've had endless amounts of fun here just messing with you, but you would be honestly surprised at just what I can really do.**

 _Like what?_

 ***That's not important right now. Just open your eyes and enjoy this.**

* * *

" _Ruby! Time to get up!"_

"…"

" _Huh? What's wrong? You don't look so good. What happened?"_

"…"

" _That's terrible! C'mere. I've got just the thing to cheer you up. You still remember how to bake cookies, right?"_

"…"

" _First, you just set th r, a n d . . ."_

* * *

"Hm?" Ruby grunted in confusion, her eyes shooting open.

 _Was that a memory? No, it couldn't've been. Mom's been dead for…twelve years. There's no way that was a memory. An alternate timeline, maybe? Yeah…for the sake of my sanity, let's go with that._

 ***Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, I told you I could do more than just talk to you and save your GAME.**

Ruby noticed something heavy weighing on her chest as she tried to sit up after that strange vision. Staying on the couch honestly seemed like a good idea, but Ruby decided she had slept long enough. Trying to get up again, she felt the weight on her, still. Deciding to do something about it, she tilted her head up and got a good look at what had been weighing her down.

Laying on top of her was Frisk, holding her in something reminiscent of a bear-hug.

"Y'know, I could get used to this," Ruby said, a little too loud.

"Used to what, exactly?" Frisk asked groggily, only just waking up.

"Oh, nothing. Come on. We've got some training to catch up on…well… _you_ have some training to catch up on. I think I'm alright."

* * *

"Hey, Weiss? Can we talk?" Asriel asked, following her to her locker.

"Asriel? Of course! What about?" she responded.

"Well…I'm worried."

"Why?"

"Frisk said she'd only be a couple of weeks. She's been out searching for Ruby for two years. What if she's dead? Or worse, captured by Salem?"

Weiss could feel the worry emanating from him. To be honest, she was starting to worry too.

"Asriel. Frisk is the Spring Maiden. She's got time, space, _and_ Spring on her side. I'm pretty sure she'd be able to handle a few goons," she said, trying harder to reassure herself than she did to him. She hoped the two were alright...for everyone's sake.

"Yeah…I guess you're right…"

Silently, they walked to their dorm room.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes, Asriel?"

"Do you…ever think about our future? When we're out there, fighting these guys, I mean?"

 _Our future? Wait…OUR future!_ she thought, internally squealing.

"Only every day!" she said to him, now energized and speaking animatedly.

 _Was that too much? Should I have said something different?_

Asriel chuckled.

"Well, what do you think about? Sharing the CEO position at the SDC?"

"Not at all! I say leave that to someone equally as despicable as my father, like Whitley, and just live quietly and satisfied in a cushy, out-of-the-way manor in Atlas."

"So…what are you thinking for jobs? I know I'm not gonna keep going as a Hunter. This is enough adventure for _my_ lifetime."

"I…I'll admit, I haven't thought _that_ far ahead."

"Relax. We've got all the time in the world to figure that out. For now…let's talk about the important stuff. You thinking about kids?"

Weiss turned red and pushed her face into the pillow on her bunk. A muffled squeak came from the pillow.

Asriel laughed to himself before he sat down in the room's cushioned recliner, leaned back, and fell asleep.

* * *

Team JNPR had just finished their nightly training, and were heading back to their dorm, when both Nora and Pyrrha had decided to put into action a plan they had talked over for a month.

Both grabbed their specific gentleman-of-choice, and quickly ran to the nearest and most secretive spots they knew.

Nora…admittedly had gotten farther into the plan than even she thought she would have, but in the end, Ren, ever astute, and used to the girl's antics, knew what she was doing.

They had reached the secluded spot Nora had found.

"Okay, Ren. Don't freak out. We've known each other for a…really long time, and I…uh…I mean, we've been together through a lot of things. Not together-together, of course, but you get what I mean."

"Don't worry, Nora," Ren said, looking fondly into her eyes, "I understand. So should we tell the others that we are now… _together-together?_ "

He bent down to reach her, and kissed her softly on the forehead.

Needless to say, that night, it was physically impossible to calm Nora down.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, had trouble.

Brining Jaune to her secret place, she began to speak, but…couldn't find any words to do so.

"Jaune, I…Jaune…"

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"Do you…um…you…"

"You alright, Pyrrha? D'you need a hospital or something? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Jaune. Just fine," she said, sighing to herself, disappointed that she was having so much difficulty.

"You know you can tell me anything, Pyrrha. I'm your partner. I can tell something's up, but what? I can't help you fix a problem if I don't know what it is."

"that's just it, kiddo. you don't know what it is," Sans said, intruding from nowhere.

"Sans?" the two said, surprised.

"look. jaune, buddy. you're…to put it bluntly…denser than a black hole. that's a science joke to those of you who know things," Sans said, the last part being to nobody, as he turned away from them, winking and shrugging, a faint _b'dum-tss_ coming from nowhere.

"What does my density have to do with this?" Jaune asked.

"dense, my dear compadre, is a term smart people use to describe a person who is absolutely oblivious to the things happening around them. for example, if someone made it _very_ obvious to you that they love you, and you still had no idea what they were doing, you're dense, buddy."

"Ooh…" Jaune said, looking like he was piecing it together.

"you understand now, chum?"

"I guess? But, no offense, Sans, I don't really like you like that."

"okay. it's official. he's denser than whatever's at the center of a black hole. look, you idiot, it's not me who loves you, that'd be weird and necrophilic, and i don't think you wanna go to jail for that. _she's_ the one who's been pinin' for ya."

…

"welp, i'm off to grillby's. you guys want anything? maybe a dinner-for-two deal?"

"Is he serious?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. He's very serious," Pyrrha said.

The two shared a tender moment looking into each other's eyes, and soon walked their way back to the dorm, hand in hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** **DING DONG, LET RING THE WEDDING BELLS! I figured I'd use this chapter to establish the canon pairings as well as further or begin the story-specific pairings. We'll be getting further into where everyone is and how they're all doing. As for the whereabouts of Yang and Chara in this chapter…**

 **Use your imagination.**

…

 **No, not that! Get your filthy minds out of the gutter. I swear…the internet sometimes, man. Speaking of the internet, a pair of reviewers (first chapter 33 reviews bay-bee!) had recommended some AU's. Underswap, The Thought, Monofell, Underfell, and coming from reviewer Jack54311 (as much as I missed your reviews, guys, this account name will haunt me to the end of my days), Doubletale.**

 **I contacted XWolf26 (Senpai noticed me!) a couple days ago, and I discussed using their content in the epilogue and I got the greenlight to go ahead and use it as long as I credit XWolf. Thanks again, dude! I'll be getting to work on a "proto-chapter" before working on the real epilogues.**

The official order of AU Epilogues:

1\. Underfell

2\. Underswap

3\. Doubletale

4\. ? (Finale, decided by yours truly.)

* * *

 **Have FUN reading!**


	35. VF - C1 - The Death of Innocence

**A/N:** **Okay, so last chapter was more about a catch-up with everybody. Now, we move on to more personal chapters. Things are gonna go kinda like a mini-V4 in the beginning, with everyone training separately, while making their way to Vytal, the center island on the Remnant world-map, where Tyrian's clue led everyone.**

 **I am no longer accepting AU's to be used in the Epilogue. The confirmed AU's are: Underfell, Underswap, and Doubletale. Just so nobody attacks me, all AU's belong to their original creators. Speaking of, go check out these AU's, they're really awesome. Well, Underfell could do with being less edgy, but you get the idea.**

 **It's been a long time since I did this, but "I do not own RWBY or Undertale. RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and Monty Oum. Undertale is owned by Toby Fox." Just doing all this to be safe.**

 **Thanks again, guys.**

* * *

The morning sun rose above the island of Patch, the dew on the green leaves of the forest glistening in the glow of the day's beginning.

Things were peaceful on the island of Patch.

If you call an official population of two and a rising number of Grimm nests "peaceful."

Otherwise, yes, things were peaceful. The animals that hadn't been attacked were living day by day quietly, cowering in fear of the Grimm prowling the island, and the two humans on the island lived equally as quietly in a warm, happy cabin deep in the forest of hanging emeralds in which no Grimm dared to stray. The Grimm, over the two years they had come into power, had evolved something that was somewhat equivalent to a sense of intelligence and self-preservation. They knew humans were dangerous, and monsters even more so. They knew enough to stay away from them until a weakness was found and exploited. Yet, in two years of sharing an island with them, Ruby knew that there was something more in this intelligence than what met the eye.

Talking to the only person who listened, Ruby went on and on about how the Grimm looked like shadows of their former selves. Before the fall, they seemed lively, angry, and ready to fight. In the two years she observed and lived with them, she found patterns in their prowl, a loss in drive to kill, and a general decrease in malicious feeling emanating from them.

Talking over a meal that morning, Ruby and Frisk had yet another heated debate on the subject of the Grimm.

"I'm telling you, they're being controlled."

"And what proof is there that they are, Ruby?"

"Frisk, I'm gonna keep telling you what I tell you every time we do this. They operate on a hive mind now. They used to have spirit, _fighting_ spirit. Now, when I fight them, the glow in their eyes is gone. They don't fight me because _they_ feel they need to; they fight me because something _makes_ them. They've become nothing more than fleshy, demonic robots."

"What do I tell you every time you say that?"

"That I've spent too much time alone, and that I'm beginning to form an unhealthy bond with them, even going as far as saying that I feel sorry for them?"

"Yup."

"Well, if you'll believe me, I've actually managed to capture a couple of cute looking Beowulf pups and chain them up in the shed."

"When were you going to tell me this?"

"Never, if I could help it…Which I couldn't...admit it, they'll make pretty good guard dogs if we train them up right!"

"We're doing no such thing, Ruby, now you release those things or so help me I'll…huh…what _can_ I do with this new power, actually? I've been trying not to use it too often."

"Here's the perfect opportunity for us to get some training in, then! Well, actually, it's you who needs the training. I think I'll be good for a while."

"And just what's _that_ supposed to mean, huh?"

"It means get your sweet ass outta that chair and into something you don't mind getting dirty."

* * *

Walking out into the forest, Ruby brought Frisk into a clearing with three Beowulves in it.

"Do your thing," was all Ruby said, motioning for Frisk to walk out into the clearing.

When she did, the Beowulves quickly spun around together, all in one motion, to meet Frisk's eyes.

 ***She's right. The Beowulf pack's eyes are all dim, not glowing like they used to. Maybe there's more to her theory than you thought.**

 ***[GNARLED] approaches!**

 ***Smells like [MANGLED].**

 ***[WARPED] snarls loudly.**

 ***[DEFORMED] bares its teeth and growls.**

 ***Sounds like you'll need all the help you can get.**

 ***SPELL**

 ***Flowers**

Holding her hand out towards the Grimm, Frisk willed flowers to grow around the Beowulves at such a rate that by the time they noticed, they had already been tied down by roots and vines. Forcing her hand downward, the flowers then pulled the Beowulves forcefully under the earth. Muffled howls reverberated through the dirt under her feet, the dirt burying them alive and suffocating them.

* * *

"So…there's a reason for this secrecy about why you don't need training. What's up?" Frisk asked as they walked quickly back to the cabin.

"Nothin'. What's your favorite fairy tale?"

"What?"

"Mine's the one about the warriors with the Silver Eyes. Remind me, what was so special about their eyes?"

"The Silver Eyed warriors…were extremely skilled fighters, and the legends say that warriors with the Silver Eyes could kill Grimm simply by looking at them."

"Now, of course, Frisk, there are some truth to myths and legends. Though, some stories keep the darker side of those powers hidden. Gotta keep that PG rating, right?"

"Ruby?" Frisk said, concern in her voice, "What are you saying?"

"The bedtime stories I was read as a little girl never ended with the hero standing over the dead, motionless body of someone who looked at them funny."

"You've killed other humans besides Watts?"

"Kinda hard not to when the bad guys keep sending assassins to kill or kidnap me. I've got a little graveyard out in the forest somewhere. They're all there. Speaking of our little misadventures, how's your vacation from our crazy, unorganized group been?"

"Paradise now that I know that everybody's okay."

Ruby chuckled, a crooked, broken grin on her face.

"Okay is a funny way to put it, but I guess you're right. I mean, we're all alive. That's more than most can say."

* * *

"Ruby?"

Frisk was up in the attic of the cabin, settling back into her makeshift room when she found a beat-up, old cardboard box that was labeled "Summer."

"Yeah, Frisk?" Ruby shouted from downstairs, a tinge of worry betrayed in her voice.

"There's something here that belongs to you. I want you to have it. Get up here and take it. There's a note attached to it."

Climbing up the ladder into the attic, Ruby looked in sadness and anger at the box in Frisk's hands. Taking the note, she read it to herself.

* * *

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _I know that I left at a bad time. You're undoubtedly going through some hard times, and I have to tell you that…_

Crossed out were several attempts at explaining her situation.

 _I love you. And though things seem rough right now, things can only get better. Please stay strong. To (hopefully) placate you until I come back, in the box, I sent my cloak. I may not come back at all, if I'm being honest with you. I'm tracking someone very dangerous, but it needs to be done if we're going to end up fighting them. So far, I know her name is Salem, and she seems to be leading a group of other undesirables. She looks to be either a Human-Grimm, or maybe the oldest and most evolved Grimm alive. It's capable of cognition and perfect speech, and is surprisingly manipulative._

 _She's scary, to say the least, and I fear I may have been found out, because the man named Tyrian came to her in a meeting rather hurriedly and, out of breath, warned her of something._

 _If I don't come back, know that I love you, and that no matter what happens, I always will. Remember always to be kind and stay determined._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Summer_

The date the letter was sent was the day before Ruby was told Summer had died.

* * *

Gripping the letter tighter in her fingers, silently, tears rolled down her face.

 ***I suppose now I should be here to help answer some questions.**

 _Why'd she have to go?_

 ***Well…It was complicated. I know she didn't know she would die. She thought she was coming back.**

 _I was told she died on a routine hunt, not a recon mission targeting the big cheese of the villains._

 ***You were young. There was no telling you that there was some insane, deadly demon preparing to tear the world apart, and it so happened that the same beast killed your mother. It would ruin you. Send you spiraling, if not into suicidal depression, into insanity.**

Ruby's expression twisted into a frown, more angry than sad at the moment.

 _So their solution was to lie to me for my entire life, and never even give me what she wanted me to have?_

 ***Don't look at me, and certainly don't bunch Tai in with the rest of them. He wanted so badly just to give you the box, but the four headmasters just wouldn't have it. It was our team that started the mission. When you were ready, they'd tell you.**

Ruby sobbed and heaved, looking ready to tear the paper in half.

 _So when was I ready? When I joined Beacon? When Beacon fell? When I froze a Dragon in stone atop a tower? When I traveled three of the world's four continents to reunite with my friends to eventually find and end the thing that planned The Fall? When I gave up and retired to a cabin in the woods of my now-infested childhood island? WHEN THE HELL WAS I READY?_

 ***Look. I know you're angry, but you're going to have to think on what I've said. I accidentally dropped a really big hint before.**

 _Why the secrecy from you? You're my guide. You're supposed to help me, not riddle me into insanity._

 ***I said, and I quote, "It was our team that started the mission." Do with that information what you will.**

Ruby's expression lost the intensity previously there. Eyes still streaming tears, she put on a puzzled face.

 _Wait. If it was your team, then you're a member of team STRQ. And if you're defending dad like that, then…you're…_

 _Mom?_

 ***Technically, yes. I'm sorry I had to be so secretive about it. It tore me up to see you so…well, I can't really put it into words, but…when you read that letter, my heart was about ready to burst. Knowing that could've resulted in this if I had died in my timeline…It hurt.**

 _You're…an alternate timeline's Summer Rose?_

 ***I'm sorry. Yes, that's me. In my timeline, I was never caught by Salem, and when Beacon fell, me and you fought our way to Salem and, with the help of your friends, we won. You're all living happily.**

"Ruby? Are you alright? Should I be worried?" Frisk asked, clearly far beyond worrying. In a bad way. In a very bad way.

Looking up from the letter, finally, Ruby opened the box and took out the cloak. It looked, felt, and smelled just like she remembered it. It was nice to look at, the inside's red accenting the outer white perfectly. It had a velvety texture, feeling soft and comforting to hold in her hands. It smelled like she used to, no matter what. She always smelled like chocolate chip cookies, even when coming home from fighting off hundreds of Grimm.

But one thing was wrong.

There was a small hole in the back of the cloak, which was too much like a slash too be a bullet, but too much like an impact to be a sword.

Summer had been shot with an arrow.

Ruby unclipped her cloak without a word.

Without warning, she took the box downstairs and grabbed her scythe.

"Frisk."

"Ruby?"

"Pack everything you need. We're going to Vytal. When I find that _bitch_ Cinder, I'm gonna make sure that she _suffers._ "

Taking the cloak from the box, Ruby clipped Summer's cloak onto her back, folding her weapon into its holster and rushing out the door.


	36. VF - C2 - Leaving

**A/N:** **Hello everyone. I'm currently writing from my brother's laptop while in a hotel in Boston, the night before an anime convention. I am, for the lack of a better word, crazy. YAAAAAY. So last chapter ended with Ruby…understandably pissed. Specifically at…you know…Cinder…yeah.**

 **TENSIONS WERE HIGH LAST EPISODE. (crap i meant chapter.)**

 **So I thought, this chapter, we'd switch over to everyone's favorite couple, (seriously, like everyone i know that reads this story loves these two. even i love them.) Chara and Yang.**

* * *

Looking out the dorm room window, Chara contemplated his situation. He cautiously examined each broken shard of the moon as it floated in the black sea of stars. Chara let out a great sigh, closing his eyes and flopping into a cushioned armchair.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't told Frisk to go look for Ruby, she'd probably still be here. Now what? Now, she's probably either dead, or worse, captured by…them. It's all my fault."

Yang had been outside the dorm listening to him wallow in self-pity for the moment, and had decided to intervene.

"What's all your fault?" she asked knowingly as she entered the room, sitting down onto the bed.

"I sent Frisk to her death."

"Don't say that. You don't know if she _is_ dead."

"She probably is. She hasn't sent any word since she left. It's been two years, Yang. _Two years._ How could she simply _forget_ to send proof-of-life messages to us for _two years_?"

"Relax. It's not your fault if she is. She would've gone after Rubes anyway. I mean, who wouldn't? Of course, I haven't seen her in two years, like you said, so I'm going off of what I remember from when I last saw her. She could be totally different now. What do you think she's like now? Tall? Serious? Longer hair? Ooh! Maybe she's…filled out some more?" Yang rambled, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Yang, please. She's your _sister._ In any case, I'm leaving tomorrow to go find them. I've got a pilot, a transport ship, and everything."

"Well, one, I know she's my sister. Two, I know she's got Frisk. Three, ew…just, no. Also, you _are_ forgetting something."

"And that would be…"

"Yours truly, of course! You wouldn't wanna leave me _Yangin'_ , would you?"

"You know, just because of that, I might."

"Come on, man! It'll be like an early honeymoon!"

"This isn't a joke."

"I wasn't joking. You've gone grey-haired in only _two years_ from stressing out over Ruby and Frisk. You need _something_ to keep you happy."

It was true. Over the two years Frisk had been missing, Chara's hair had gone gradually grey. His hair at the moment was a mess. Unkempt, long, and unwashed-looking (and smelling). It shone bright, silver in the light of the moon, which accented the few areas that remained a spotted brown, bringing to mind the image of a bloody bandage wrapped around his head.

 ***the look on her face says she means it. yet…you feel uneasy about taking her with you. the decision…it fills you with…deliberation.**

 ***…**

 ***…**

 ***well?**

 ***decisions aren't gonna make themselves, jackass.**

"I'm gonna regret this, I know I am. Screw it, pack your things and we'll set out first thing in the morning."

"I thought you'd say that. Admit it: You can't resist me," Yang said, teasing him.

"Just start packing, or I'll _send you_ packing," he returned in an equally flirtatious manner.

* * *

"So, old boy, where are we headed today?" the pilot asked excitedly.

Climbing into the ship, Chara grumbled.

"Drop the 'old' and the chipper attitude. We're flying over Patch."

"Patch? That place's infested! You sure you're ready for that?"

"We're a helluva lot more ready for it than you are, that's for sure. You don't even need to touch down there, just let us jump. We'll find another way off the island."

"How?"

"Hope to whatever god there is there's a boat docked there somewhere? I don't know, we'll think of something, even if we have to swim off the island."

"Well, gotta say, I admire your tenacity. Let's get flyin'!" the pilot shouted, turning the ignition key and wooping and hollering as the engines kicked into gear, hovering off to Patch.

* * *

 _Well…the pilot wasn't kidding. It's definitely infested…where's the house? I know it's in the woods somewhere, and the other houses from the village weren't that far off from the forest…I…uh…come on, I spent a half a year there, I should know where it is!_

 ***maybe if you cared enough to take a few trips to the village, you would know where the cabin is in relation to the location of the village.**

 _Sans, now is not the time._

 ***just sayin' is all…though it really would've done some good for you to get outside more. you'd be less pasty and pale. i mean, you look more like a skeleton than i do.** **at this point, i think you're at the mercy of yang's sense of direction.**

"So…where's the house?" Chara asked.

"I know where it is, just follow me," Yang said confidently.

"I was afraid you'd say that," he responded, sounding disappointed.

* * *

The cabin was a mess.

Clothes, papers, cans, tins, and boxes were thrown everywhere.

Chara…hadn't taken it well. He had begun to worry.

"What if they aren't here?"

Yang didn't respond.

"Do you think they were attacked?"

Yang didn't respond.

"What's going on?"

Yang didn't respond.

"Why are you acting so calm?"

…

Yang turned around, giving Chara a very annoyed look.

"Look, buddy. I know you're her older brother, and it's sweet that you care so much about her, but there's a point where you should just stop thinking out loud. It gets kinda annoying, and a little creepy. It starts to sound less like brotherly worry and more like obsession. Trust me. I'm talking from experience. Remember how crazy my dad acted when he saw the state of us after Beacon fell?"

"Yeah…it was kinda funny to watch him scramble around like that. Though…now that I think about it, I feel bad about that. He fell down the stairs, like…three times in the same day."

"Think about having to deal with him like that for the better part of seventeen years."

"Yeesh."

"Yeah. Words of wisdom: don't go batshit over this. Besides, I was totally right."

Yang pointed to a cabin window, grinning madly.

Chara curiously wandered over to the window and peered in to see Frisk and Ruby, safe and sound, laying on the couch together. Breathing a sigh of relief, he made his 'arduous journey' to the door and gently knocked.

* * *

"I got it, Frisk."

"Put your hood up. You never know who it might be."

Opening the door, Ruby looked ahead to see…a green and yellow sweater. Looking up, she met the face of a grey-haired, seemingly familiar man.

"Ozpin?"

"Oz- wha- are you serious? Do I really look _that_ old?" he said angrily.

"What is it? Are you his evil twin brother, come to kill me?"

"Uh…no?"

"Good. Because I could kill you at any time. Keep that in mind. So…if you aren't here to kill me, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"I wanted to find Frisk. I've been worried about her."

"Did…Weiss find a way to turn Asriel into a human? Because I feel like that's what I'm looking at right now."

"Damn it, Ruby, it's me! Chara!"

"Relax, dude! I spotted Yang spying on us in the window, and I thought some funny business was coming," Ruby said, turning and addressing Yang with, "Yeah, Yang, I saw you, I'm not blind."

"Whoa. Ruby? _That's_ you? You're…taller! More…serious! You've got…longer hair! And…uh…yeah…" Yang trailed off. She had just noticed…Ruby had grown more than she had.

"Yang, I can see where you're looking. My eyes are up here," Ruby said, gesturing toward her face.

"Never thought I'd see the day where _you_ were the one saying that to _me_."

"Well…things change. Come in. I've got some news to share with you guys."

* * *

Ruby regaled them with the tale told in Summer's letter, and told them that she had wrecked the house to pack for their expedition for vengeance. Frisk had butt in with occasional jokes to break the tension left by the story, but the news was heavy. Cinder had killed Ruby's mother, and now, with the power she held, she could have her vengeance the moment she set eyes on her target.

But so many questions remained unanswered. Who was that boy that came through the portal? What use did a pen have? What significance did Ness and the Starman hold? Why would Salem want to destroy the four academies? Just how many underlings did she have left? How would they defeat her if they barely know anything about her?

All the questions they could think of would remain unanswered if they didn't do anything, so, with one final, sad look back at the cabin, they left for the docks in the village, where they found plenty of abandoned boats.

* * *

"Okay. Practicality…or Vanity?" Yang asked no one in particular, trying to choose between a large boat, almost like a floating shack, or a luxury speed boat, seats and coolers taking up most of the boat's space.

"Votes for practicality?" Frisk prompted.

Frisk, Chara, and Ruby raised their hands.

"Votes for vanity?" Chara half-heartedly prompted, knowing who would vote for it.

Yang raised her hand.

"Practicality it is, then," Ruby said, satisfaction in her voice as she marched to the floating shack, bringing Frisk with her.

 ***Foolish children. You know nothing of what you are fighting.**

The sky suddenly turned an ominous shade of purple, a storm starting immediately.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Chara said, staring up at the clouds.

 ***You know you fight a woman named Salem, but you know naught of what she is capable of.**

"I know she's capable of cowardice! You've sent henchman after henchman after me! Not _once_ have we met face to face! What, are you _scared_ of a little girl with grey eyes?" Ruby yelled, trying to anger whatever was causing the storm.

 ***Very well. You require a challenge. A test of might, if you will. In time, you will see…Might controls everything. Without strength, you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourselves.**

 ***Let us see if your** _ **Mercy**_ **can save these poor souls. Visions of the past haunt those living in the present.**

 ***The deaths of many hang over their heads.**

 ***Friends** ,

Papyrus appeared in front of them, a defined blade-hole left in his chest, and red, Grimm-like markings covering his body.

 ***And even enemies.**

Roman Torchwick joined him, his overcoat half-melted, burn marks left on the exposed flesh. His eyes were black with red irises, Grimm markings marring his face, continuing on a hat made from the material that made up Grimm masks.

 ***Can you save them? Is it possible? Or is it better to just kill them?**

" **RUBY. H-HELP…PLEASE. MY…MY CHEST…IT HURTS. I DON'T KNOW WHY.** "

" **Red. I've had a lot of time…to...think about what I've done, y'know, what wi-Urgh!-with me being dead and all…If anyone deserves a second chance, it's him. He's done nothing wrong. Me? I'm where I belong. I ain't sayin' anything about the afterlife, but…I just hope Neo doesn't end up where I'm goin'.** "

…

 ***DECIDE. Kill? Or Save? Friend? Or Enemy?**

* * *

Ruby approached Papyrus.

 ***Ruby…this isn't a good idea. If anything, this is a trap.**

 _I have to do this. I owe it to Sans._

 ***ACT**

 ***CHECK**

 ***Papyrus? ATK ? DEF ?**

 ***No one should have to suffer through what he's going through.**

" **RUBY…I…IT HURTS TO LIVE…K…** "

 ***Papyrus is sparing you.**

 ***ACT**

 ***Ask**

"Papyrus…what hurts? Why?"

" **KILL** **ME...PLEASE.** "

 ***Papyrus looks like he's melting.**

 ***His body isn't co-operating with the determination holding it together.**

 ***ACT**

 ***Puzzle**

 ***You ask Papyrus for help in a Junior Jumble wordsearch.**

 ***Papyrus squirms uncomfortably, trying to sustain himself as his grin hurts him.**

" **HUMAN. DEATH IS MY ONLY MERCY. I CANNOT GO ON LIKE THIS. IF SANS WERE TO SEE ME LIKE THIS…IT WOULD ONLY HURT HIM MORE. I CANNOT BEAR THAT THOUGHT. PLEASE. I MUST ASK YOU TO KILL ME…IF NOT…I'LL DO IT MYSELF.** "

 ***…**

 ***It seems talking will do you no good here.**

 ***…**

 ***FIGHT**

 ***999999999**

" **T-TH…THANK YOU…RUBY. I'LL…BE SURE TO…FORGIVE…YOU…"**

 ***Papyrus faded away.**

 ***Your LOVE has increased.**

 ***LV 10.**

Ruby, wrought with grief for a second time, shambled towards Roman.

" **Kid, we both know I did some screwy stuff when I was alive. I'm not gonna lie, my actions at the Battle of Beacon cost hundreds, if not, thousands of people their lives. I know you just had to kill a friend, someone you've held near and dear to you, but…can I ask you to do it again, this time…to me?** "

 ***ACT**

 ***Defy**

"If I can't save at least one of you, I'll have just proven her point. I can't even believe I'm saying this, but, Roman, I'm going to save you whether you like it or not."

" **Kid, please. You're wasting your time. I'm not deserving of a second chance. Sure, I'd love to see Neo again, even just to make sure she's still alive, but…I'm not even supposed to be** _ **here**_ **talking to** _ **you**_ **. I died, fair and square. It was an occupational hazard, and now I have to deal with those consequences. It was gonna happen to me eventually. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon.** "

 ***He really wants you to kill him. Are you sure you want to do this?**

 ***ACT**

 ***Philosophy**

"On the top of that Atlas ship, where you died, you told me something. A code you lived by. You said you were a person who chose to root for the winning side. How you weren't afraid to play dirty to live how you wanted. You told me you were going to do what you did best. Can you remember what that was?"

" **They're my last words, of course I remember them…more or less. 'As for me, I'll keep doing what I do best. Lie, cheat, steal, and survive.'** "

"Well…that doesn't necessarily mean you have to lie, cheat, steal, and survive with a specific, predetermined team, right? Your philosophy proves that you're morally flexible. You aren't afraid to change sides if it means you win in the end. I'd call it selfish, but you were doing it so you could keep Neo safe. I can both respect and relate to that. So please, just…take my hand."

Ruby extended a hand to Roman.

Roman, or…what was left of the man, looked at her hand in confusion. He tentatively grabbed her hand, nervously shaking it. Once he let go, a lopsided smile lit up his pale-as-death face.

" **I'm glad you think I could help.** "

"I just don't want your little ice cream friend to suffer because of your death. If you'd like, we could stop at Vale to find her before we set out for Vytal," Ruby said, looking forlornly back at the smiling face of her new undead former enemy.

" **Either way, you were a target of mine, and all this time you wanted to help me. Now I just feel like an asshole. Well, like you said, 'lie, cheat, steal, and survive' works for both sides of this fight, and I owe you a debt of gratitude. I like to consider myself a gentlemanly thief, so I make good on the promises I make, no matter what. I'll help in any way I can.** "

"Well…You could start by helping us fix up this boat," Chara suggested, kicking a dent in the side of the boat they had chosen. "Oops? Uh…That'll buff out, right?" he asked.

"Well, sailor, lemme tell ya, we've got some work to do if we're getting off this island anytime soon," Yang said, powering up her arm, an electric hum coming from it.

So, now with a new ally and some heavy hearts, they set to work, repairing the boat to seaworthy conditions.


	37. VF - C3 - Vale, Destroyed

**A/N:** **Hey everybody. It's been a while since I posted on this story. Sorry about that. In other news, I have a new story up on the website that's a RWBY and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure crossover. So that's a thing. The first chapter isn't as good as the second, but it does get better.**

 **Now, on to other, more important matters.**

 **So I'm fairly certain that you're all very confused as to why or how the Starman and Ness fit in here, in this story. Well, I know a bunch of you are very adamant that they DON'T…at all. HERE'S THE THING.**

 **I KNOW TOBY SAID SANS IS NOT NESS. I just thought I'd try to challenge myself with a three-way crossover, and this seemed like the easiest, most convenient way to do it.**

 **REST ASSURED that I have something planned for them. Something I'd LOVE to spoil here, trust me. But I won't. Because that would defeat the purpose of me writing this story, and you reading it. I'm just not going to go into detail about it in this chapter. Now, we'll be focusing on Ruby, Frisk, Yang, Chara, and Zombie-Roman as they set out for Vale.**

* * *

At sea, there is little in the way of entertainment for an undead gentleman-thief to amuse himself with.

So he resigned himself to simply stare at the waves as he hung over the edge of the boat.

"What am I doing here? I was _dead_. Now I'm here. Not dead. I'm no stranger to handling dead bodies, but not my own."

Sighing and holding his head in his hands, Roman lamented his undeath as he tried to see why he had come back until someone approached the railing beside him.

"You know, Roman, it isn't always what you _are_ doing, or why you're here. Sometimes, what you need to think about is what _you can do_."

"Red?"

"I'm…not gonna lie. The years after Beacon fell were hard. We found Mistral, and I left, retreated back to Patch, and honestly…I didn't really feel like continuing after that. I had to _fight with myself_ not to leave the house and walk into a pack of Beowulves. I just…felt like there was something that I could do that kept me from losing it. Whatever that something was, it…kept me going. It made me want to keep living. Do you…have something like that?"

Roman was speechless. In his eyes, 'Red' was an innocent, happy girl with a naïve sense of justice, not the 'Ruby' that was before him, talking callously like a grizzled mercenary about _reasons to live_.

Deciding not to think too hard about her, Roman shifted his thoughts elsewhere. To Neo.

"Well…yeah, I do. You remember Neo. She's definitely something special, I'll give her that."

"Why?"

"If you wanna know why, I'd have to go back about a decade and a half ago, give or take. I was coming back from a job. I just got off a bank heist, and I decided to take a shortcut home, through an alleyway. While I was walking though, I saw a little girl huddled next to a door behind a restaurant. She had this look in her eyes that I couldn't ignore. She looked lost. I guess she was abandoned or something. I never asked. So, my next extraordinary leap in logic was to take her home with me and raise her like I would if she were my own daughter. The last couple years of my life, keeping her happy and well cared for was the only thing keeping me going. So yeah, I guess you _could_ say I have something like that. Why?"

"Well, it's all the more reason we need to hurry to Vale," she said, walking off back to the captain's cabin.

Docking in the port at Vale, they all got their first looks at the city since Roman died and the team split up.

"Hey, 'no place like home,' right, guys?" Frisk offered jokingly.

"All those cheesy old signs used to say 'home is where the heart is.' I don't really wanna believe them, but I can't really say they're wrong," Chara answered snidely.

"Then where's _my_ home, seeing as I'm dead and all that?" Roman asked.

"Probably in the stomach of a Grimm somewhere in the Atlas fleet wreckage…if the fleet is still stuck on land, not cleared out somewhere. I say we should search around the city. That's our best bet for finding your kid, Roman…assuming she didn't move out somewhere."

* * *

Going with the haphazardly formulated plan, they banded together in groups to search the city. They soon learned the formerly densely populated city was no longer what it was. The streets, though cleared of Grimm, were veiled in a foreboding, ominous feeling. Thick, purple smog enveloped the area, and the sky seemed to crack with thunder and lightning as rain came down in sheets.

"So, Red, if you don't mind me asking, what was it that kept _you_ going through these past two years?" Roman asked her, shuffling along the sidewalk, feeling naked without his weapon.

A long pause in the conversation let Roman know that he had to be careful with that subject.

"…"

"I mean, you don't have to tell me, I just thought since you asked me, I might as well ask you t-"

"Did you live in Vale?"

"Yeah…why?"

"You see any buildings that look familiar?"

Looking around, he noticed two very specifically important buildings were left mostly intact. If his body would let him, he would've shed a tear.

"I lived in the apartment building on this street corner…Just a few blocks down on the same street I can see the old Dust Til Dawn shop."

"All that's missing here is for the street to be named 'Memory Lane.' I'm thinking we should search your apartment first. It's our best bet," Ruby said, Roman following her.

* * *

"Of course it's locked. Why would I _ever_ leave it unlocked?" Roman grumbled to himself, fumbling through his pockets.

He _did_ find a key. Although, it wasn't in any kind of functional shape. It had been melted into a mess of metal when Roman had been eaten two and a half years ago.

"Just my luck," he said angrily. Pulling the feather from his hat out of his jacket pocket, he inserted it into the lock on his door.

"See, Red, when you're a master criminal by trade, like me, you have to be prepared for anything. You know how some people take bird feathers and turn the ends into pens? I had mine turned into a lockpick for situations just like this."

"For when you're locked out of the house?" Ruby replied sarcastically.

"For when I need to pick open a door so that no guards notice I'm there. If anyone is in there and it's not Neo, should we have to attack, we'll have the element of surprise."

Opening the door, Roman stepped inside quietly and cautiously.

As stealthily as he could, Roman made his way across his old apartment's living room, heading towards the hallway that lead to a pair of bedrooms.

Giving Ruby a look to warn her to stay quiet as he continued on, Roman found his way to the end of the hall. Putting his ear on the door of his old room, he heard some noise coming from inside.

Motioning to Ruby to stay where she was, he silently opened the door, making the noise more apparent.

He couldn't hear it clearly through the door, but now it was clear to him. He had heard someone crying. Sobbing, even.

Still on his guard, he sat crouched by the doorframe, sneaking peeks on the inside of the room to clarify if the person was a threat.

He saw a girl sitting on the bed in the room. From where he was, he saw she had orange hair, and was wearing a very badly beaten jacket, as well as…his old hat.

 _Someone else then…might as well ask where they found the hat,_ he thought.

Getting up, Roman slowly walked to where the girl was sat on the bed, and got a look at her from the front.

She was indeed wearing his hat, and had a rather familiar color of orange hair, but it was almost eerie how much she reminded him of him. She even shared his eye color. And in her hands, she delicately held Roman's weapon as if it were some important relic made of glass, ready to shatter at a moment's notice.

Everything about what he was looking at felt so very familiar. It reminded him almost immediately of that night in the back alley when he first met Neo.

"Hey. Hey, kid," he said, trying his best to sound as comforting as he could.

The girl looked up from the cane to his face. She sat in silence, her cries stopped.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked.

The girl's eyes shut tight, welling up with tears again, though her cries were inaudible.

"Kid, come on, don't…just…are you okay?"

She continued to cry, though no sound came from her open mouth.

"Just…calm down, open your eyes, and look at me. I can't help unless you tell me what's wrong."

Roman sat down next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm over her shoulders. He waited silently until she began to stop.

"That's it, kid. I'm here," he said, looking over to her.

The girl wiped her teary eyes and kept them closed. She moved to face him, slowly opening her eyes.

Roman looked confused at first, but gradually, his expression shifted into an almost mournful visage.

The eyes he saw were no longer his. They were pink and brown.


	38. VF - C4 - Timelines and Dirty Hackers

**A/N:** **Alright, boys and girls, I'm back! It only took about 6 months, but it's finally here! A new chapter!**

 **Don't lie, you guys thought I was dead. Or maybe you thought I was just being lazy. I'm fairly certain I've left Fanfiction for longer than this. I think.**

 **Anyway, let's get right into it. If you don't remember from last time, I highly suggest reading from V5's beginning.**

 **Disclaimers, since I haven't said it in a while: I don't own RWBY, Undertale, any AU's associated with Undertale, or DoubleTale (though I have gotten permission to use it). RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, Undertale belongs to Toby Fox, all Undertale AUs belong to their rightful owners, and DoubleTale belongs to XWolf26. Speaking of, go read DoubleTale. It's really good.**

 **Oh yeah, and I decided to trade in one plot twist and use another one I've had planned, so thanks to some serious official business and a little bit of retconning, Ness and that Starman are no longer important to the story. Again, trading in one plot twist for another, so still keep an eye out for some spooky stuff. (Why do I love the word "spooky" so much god damn it…)**

* * *

"Neo?" Roman asked tentatively.

Nodding slowly, she looked hesitant. She had the appearance of someone who had seen a ghost. Which was appropriate considering the circumstances, Roman being undead and all that.

"Don't worry. I'm here now. You're safe," he said, putting his arm around her, patting her head affectionately.

She shook her head, pointing outside, in the street. She made motions that suggested fighting.

"You've been getting attacked? By who?" Roman asked, concerned, clearly used to talking with her like this.

She pointed in the direction of Beacon, and brought her hands up like claws.

"Grimm from Beacon, huh? Gotta say, those are some pretty resilient Grimm. Believe me, I'd know. So, how would you feel about heading over there and getting rid of them?" he asked, getting excited himself.

Puffing out her chest and smiling wide, she picked up her parasol, straightened out her bowler hat, and changed her eyes back to green.

"Okay, that's cool, but that's also kinda creeping me out, kiddo," Roman said, feeling more than a little awkward.

"Well, you two, it's nice that you've reunited, but if we really are hitting Beacon, we'll need to do it tomorrow. The whole gang is kinda wiped out, and we need to rendezvous with everyone else to give them the good news. And Roman, haven't you heard that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery?" Ruby said, hints of a smile on a face that seemed to have forgotten how to laugh.

* * *

Eventually, meeting up with the others, the group of them had settled into an abandoned hotel. Deciding to steep herself in her problems alone instead of sleeping like a rational person, Ruby laid back on the roof, staring up at the sky. Pulling out an old pen, she contemplated its previous owner.

" **You know, Red, there are a lot more people in the multiverse like you. Thrust into adventure without wanting it. Just know that they'll have your back, should you ever need it."**

 _Should I ever need it, huh? Good to know the powers that be are on my side. Maybe I could use this to gain some insight into whatever the hell it is we're fighting,_ Ruby thought, thinking back to the scruffy-looking boy.

"You rang?" a strangely familiar voice asked.

"How did you know I did?" she trailed off.

"Trust me, it's complicated. If I told you, your brain would fly out of your head, laser blast your eyes to dust, and then kamikaze the shit outta your face. If you want the condensed answer, I _**sensed a disturbance in the force**_ ," the voice said, getting closer, the owner of said voice walking to meet Ruby where she sat.

Getting a good look at him, he looked to be no older than she was, possibly even just a little bit younger, though the bags under his eyes told the story of a teenager who had lived a life of more than a thousand years. He had a considerable mop of brown hair, striking green, determined eyes, a dark blue sweatshirt with red stripes running across it, and a pair of baggy jeans covering most of a pair of hiking boots.

"Look, I know I'm hot, but you don't have to stare," he said, jokingly.

 ***CHECK**

 ***?**

 ***ATK: 2 DEF: 1**

 ***The Immovable Object**

 ***Just who is he?**

 ***Maybe a better question is... _what_ is he?**

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, getting straight to the point.

"A friend from another Universe. You can call me Hacker."

"Not even gonna gimme your nickname? Don't you know it's rude to lie to a lady?" Ruby asked cynically, though somewhat sarcastically.

"You're bein' a little rude yourself. Don't you think you should introduce yourself first?" he asked, equally scathingly.

Thinking, her eyes darting from him to the pen, she decided to trust him. A roll of the dice she'd take her chances on.

"Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Cter."

"Just Cter?" she asked, getting annoyed.

"Not really, but also, yes."

"I like people who are direct. And you're very much pissing me off right now with your vague bullshit, _Hacker_ ," she threatened through gritted teeth.

"You want me to be straight with ya. Okay. I can do that. I'm only doing this vague bullshittery because of timeline shenanigans, okay? I'm not telling you my real name, plain and simple. It's possible that you already know a version of me. I go by Cter. I'm from the timeline codenamed: DoubleTale. You, 'Ruby Rose,' are part of the timeline codenamed: SimpleTale. Now, if you want a crashcourse in quantum physics and timelines and offshoots and AU's, please, be my guest and raise your hand like a good little student, or just tell me what I need to explain and I can be home for dinner so Goatmom doesn't tear me a new asshole."

"Why not? I could do with an explanation. What exactly did you mean by 'a lot more people in the multiverse like you?'"

"Alright, look. You know when you wake up in the morning and say, 'screw it, I'm having ice cream for breakfast?' There's a universe out there where you didn't do that, and instead ate breakfast like a respectable fuckin' human being. Those are 'offshoot timelines.' Timelines where one thing or one decision usually has major consequences. Okay, ice cream for breakfast is a pretty bad example but…Ah, fuck it. It's better if you learned by watching it anyway."

Opening a gate to another timeline, Cter and Ruby stepped inside.

* * *

"Alright. In this timeline, the only change is that, when our lovely mutual friend Frisk decided to take the power of the Spring Maiden, which, spoiler alert, totally works, she gets attacked by Cinder, and dies. Of course, the last person in her thoughts was you, assuring that you were going to be the one to get the powers next. At the time this happened, you were on a transport ship back to Patch when you suddenly got your Spring powers."

Cter surprisingly delivered much of the background on the timeline with little to no empathy in his voice, suggesting that something goes wrong.

Sitting in a boat on the sea off the coast of Patch, they looked to the sky, seeing the transport ship. Cter put his hand up nonchalantly, counting off on his fingers out loud.

"Three…Two…One," he said, his voice void of any emotion as he looked on with the eyes of a dead fish.

A flash of green light burst from the ship, the ship itself exploding with it, debris falling all around them. Shortly after, Ruby felt raindrops fall on her head.

"Look up, friendo. That ain't rain you're feeling," Cter said.

Indeed it was not. As soon as Ruby looked up, she regretted it. The drops she felt on her head had been the remains of the passengers in the ship. Horrified, she looked around, but didn't see any bodies. They had been _atomized_. Where her alternate timeline counterpart was, she had no clue.

The green light stopped, and something fell from it. Strangely, Ruby saw...herself. It was surreal to say the least. She felt what was akin to an out of body experience…in her own body. She didn't like the feeling. She felt a rapid sinking feeling, but wasn't falling. She felt her stomach churn, starting to feel sick.

Watching the falling Ruby, Cter indulged her with more information, seeing she was about ready to leave.

"You later use your powers, Silver Eyes _and_ Spring, to brutally murder pretty much everyone involved in Salem's schemes. Including Salem. It didn't take much. You went a little crazy in the process, though, and it ended up with you losing your Determination and killing yourself with your own powers. You look…not okay. Let's move on to some other timeline. Or do you wanna stop?"

"No. No, keep going. I think I have the time and the stomach for just one more, though," Ruby said, slurring sickly and heavily.

"Just saying, I don't come with doggy bags," he joked, opening another portal.

* * *

"I mean, for real, I'm kinda concerned for ya. Like, are you _absolutely sure_ you wanna see what's coming? 'Cause this shit's for real," Cter warned.

Beginning to tire of his shenanigans, Ruby gave him a look that said 'just shut up and keep moving.'

"Alright," he said, putting his hands up, "If you throw up in front of yourself, don't come crying to me."

"So what's the deal with this timeline, then? Heroes and Villains swap roles or something? Because I'm seeing a whole lot of nothing right now," Ruby said, annoyed.

"Actually, there's pretty much nothing different with this timeline, besides the fact that your friend Velvet isn't a faunus, and that the timeline went by a little faster. Other than that, you're in virtually the same timeline. There's somethin' about that girl and the speed of the flow of the timeline. It's freakin' weird as hell, I swear. Anyway, minor and/or major spoilers for your life here, so tell me if you don't wanna see anything."

"I'll take whatever information I can get to get ahead of the enemy right now. They're gonna pay for what they've done," Ruby said, a fire in her eyes.

"Okay, Edgy Edgeworthington McEdgerson, I'll get you your spoilers, just wait here for a sec. I'll be off at a safe distance while you have a chat with Future You," he said, walking casually away.

Ruby didn't quite mind. In fact, his presence was a bit overbearing at times and he wasn't exactly the picture of trustworthiness. There was also a feeling of hidden potential inside him that she, hating to admit it, legitimately feared.

Taking the time she had away from him and relishing it, she got a good look at her surroundings. She felt like she had seen where she was before, but couldn't put her finger on it. It was a grassy area that was covered in a blanket of trees, barely letting any light reach the ground. Then it hit her. This place, though definitely unfamiliar to her, reminded her of the Emerald Forest. Hearing rustling behind her, she readied her weapon, turning to face what she heard.

Hearing a familiar heavy sigh, she felt confused.

 _Where have I heard that before?_ she thought.

"I remember now. This was when it happened. And if I remember right, you're thinking about where you know that sigh from. I hate to burst your bubble, but I'll just come right out and say it," an even more familiar voice said.

Coming out from the brush was a girl in a white, tattered cloak, holding a giant, red, mechanized sniper-scythe.

 ***Despite everything…**

 ***It's still you.**

 ***You feel a rush of Determination.**

 ***You are unable to save in timelines that aren't your own.**

"Hey," the girl said.

"You're…" Ruby trailed off.

"Yeah. I am," she answered, knowing her exact question.

"But-"

"Don't ask questions you don't wanna know the answers to."

"How far away is this from my time?" Ruby asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say…anywhere from two weeks to a month. Shit kinda hit the fan when we decided to go back to Beacon, and everything from that point gets blurry. All I know is I fucked up, and now I'm gonna have to either pay for it, or make up for it."

"So what happened?"

"Oh, you know…a little a' this, a little a' that. I woke up on this island with a couple of some…ornery injuries."

"'Ornery' how?" Ruby asked, curious.

Pulling off an old, brown glove on her right hand, she revealed a very thin, wiry prosthetic that had been welded to her stump of an arm. From the look of it, she managed to reinforce it with a few spare parts from stray Atlesian Knight robots that washed up on the shore so it wasn't completely useless.

"I get by on what I find, but the real shitty one was the one I noticed only a couple of seconds after I sorted out my arm."

Pulling off her hood, she revealed her face, bruised and battered, with her eyes still closed. When Ruby got a good look at her, she opened her right eye. It was a foggy, dull grey. Not shining silver like Ruby's. Then, she opened her other eye, grinning. There was…nothing. Ruby saw…nothing.

"Cleanly ripped from the skull, no blood drawn. Don't know how it happened, but the stress of losing it has kinda screwed with my vision. If I remember from Professor Peach's lovely health class, I think it was trauma-induced blindness. Temporary in some cases, but it's unclear how long 'temporary' is."

Shocked and scared, Ruby backed away, knowing it would happen to her too.

"Look, if it's any consolation, I learned a way to function without sight. It's a lot like that cool samurai lady from that show we used to watch. Remember? Anyway, I can kind of…feel the animals, people, and things around me. It's like they give off a certain energy that I can sense. I guess it's some sort of…'backup sight' from the Silver Eyes. From what I can 'see,' you're…scared, dreading something, obviously, and you're…a little bit hungry. Come with me. I can fix that," Future Ruby said.

Turning to the trees behind her, she said threateningly, "And Cter, you can come out of the forest now. I can feel your presence. It's nasty as hell."

"How is it, exactly?" he asked, walking out of the trees.

"It feels a lot like the aura of shame you feel right after a session of slammin' the salmon."

"Just how I like it. Come on Rubies, let's get going. Future, where's your hideout?"

"I left myself a…waypoint, if you will, back where it was. I wouldn't know how to tell you, so it's best if I just take you there."

"And, if you don't mind my asking, how'd you _make_ this _waypoint_ of yours?"

"It's not as R-rated as it sounds when _you_ say it, that's for sure. If you've gotta know, I wiped off some sweat on a rag I found there not too long ago, and I can still sense my energy on it."

"Gross…" Ruby said to herself.

"Just you wait, buddy, it'll happen to you too. Then you'll have to explain to yourself and _this_ sleazebag what you did to keep yourself from getting lost," 'Future' said, gesturing distastefully in the general direction she could feel Cter's reportedly disgusting aura.

* * *

Coming up on a small, run-down shack, Ruby looked at her future self inquisitively.

"I know it's not much, but it's home. For now, at least. I've got a fairly good idea of where I am," Future Ruby said.

Cter, being the gentleman he totally isn't, opened the door for the two of them, and entered after, commenting on the shack's interior.

"Looks like my room back home in my timeline. You aren't trying to emulate me, are you?" he asked.

"You wish, buddy. Remember how I pretty much don't have eyes anymore? Kinda makes it hard to clean anything," Future Ruby said, sitting in front of a fire pit at the center of the hut. Taking out a rock of Fire Dust and a sharp piece of scrap metal, no doubt picked off of a wrecked Atlesian Knight, she lit a fire, preparing to cook something.

"I…don't know how to cook," Ruby said, looking confused.

"You learn surprisingly quickly when you have to fight to get your next meal. Makes it a helluva lot more bearable, and it feels especially rewarding. Lucky us, I caught a hefty-looking deer earlier today, and hauled it back here. Havin' some venison tonight!" Future Ruby said, mouth already watering.

Now that the subject of food was brought up, the conversation shifted to a more lighthearted mood. They joked and laughed and ate happily. Then, things wound down, the three of them feeling quite sleepy. Ruby, having to go home, pestered Cter to stay awake until they left. Future Ruby had fallen asleep the moment she flopped onto her makeshift bedspread, leaving just Ruby and Cter.

"So…you get the idea, right? Shit's gonna go bad. You're sure you're alright with seeing that?" he asked, getting up and leaving the shack.

"I've kinda come to terms with it. I mean, she has, so I have to end up okay with it at some point, right?" Ruby said to him, following him out.

"Oh, yeah…you know, I think I forgot to mention one crucial detail about the differences in your timeline and this timeline," Cter said suddenly, a realization dawning on him.

"And what would that be?" Ruby asked, curious.

"In this timeline, you and Frisk are just friends."

"And that's important…how?"

"Well, you heard what she was saying back there, right? I think she was quite taken with me, don't you think?"

"Dude. You're talking to a pretty valid approximation of her right now, and I'd say she was doing no such thing, and if I were her, I'd slap you…which, come to think of it, I am, so…"

"Look. I'm pretty sure she hit on me at least three times, and probably _only one of them_ was ironic."

"You've got some low standards if that's what qualifies as personal, romantic interest."

"Ahh, shaddap," he said, opening a portal back to her timeline.

"So, I can call you again if I need help?"

"Well, as long as I'm not busy myself. If I am, the most I can do is send some Alternate Universe You's to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to set a ship out to sail. I know at least one person ships it…probably."

"Well, then I guess I'll see you around. I'm gonna go forget about you and your…eccentric escapades."

"See ya later, space cowboy."

* * *

Coming back to her timeline felt unreal. Like she was stepping back into a memory. And then she spotted a familiar face.

Sitting on the edge of the building, looking up to the sky, Frisk sat quietly in contemplation.

 ***Coming back to your timeline couldn't have happened at a better time. It seems time has barely moved here. With a feeling that you had better get some rest to prepare you for what will soon follow, you fill with Determination. GAME SAVED.**

Walking up to Frisk and sitting at the edge next to her, Ruby leaned over and rested her head on Frisk's shoulder.

"How are you holding up, Frisk?" she asked quietly.

"I'm doing surprisingly well, considering the circumstances. Chara and Yang are still kind of wary about returning to Beacon."

"They're right to be worried. Being honest, I'm a little afraid myself. I'd say for good reason," Ruby said, a quiver in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Frisk said, looking over to Ruby, a worried expression on her face.

"Can I tell you something that you have to promise me you won't tell anyone? Not even Chara and Yang?"

"Of course! I just…don't know where this is coming from."

"Remember that kid that interrupted Yang and Chara's fight with Dr. Watts? I was thinking on what he said that day, and he just kinda showed up outta nowhere. I ended up going with him to two alternate timelines. One of them was two weeks to a month in the future. I met myself living on some random island. She had her right hand replaced by a shoddy, DIY prosthetic made from parts of washed-up Atlesian Knight robots, and was blind in one eye, caused by the stress of finding out that she had completely lost the other."

"Oh my god…Ruby…and you're sure about the authenticity of it? He's not just some hired goon from Salem trying to scare you with illusions?"

"Believe me when I say I've _dealt with_ enough of Salem's lackeys to know when one's trying to put one over on me. He was completely genuine, if a little prickish."

"So, were we anywhere you could see us when you were with him and your future self?"

"I didn't see any of you guys. Not you, not Yang, not Chara, not even Roman or Neo. I think I might have been alone on that island."

"Wait, an island?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear me say it before?"

"You don't think it could be that you were on Vytal?"

Looking up at the stars, then in the direction of Beacon, Ruby said, "Only one way to find out."

 ***That feeling of trepidation building inside you…It fills you with Determination.**


	39. VF - C5 - Timeline Hopping for Fun

**A/N:** **Hey guys. Gonna try to pick up my updates so that I don't release chapters every half a year. That's…yeah, that's kind of a dick move.**

 **This chapter will be a bit different. It'll showcase the first three Epilogue timelines from the perspective of an outsider. Gotta admit though, writing RWBY stories has gotten to be disheartening. The main series has kinda gone a little flat. I might try writing for something else. I mean, I've been really into Persona 5 lately, so maybe that.**

 **Again, the first three epilogue timelines are UnderFell, UnderSwap, and DoubleTale. The final timeline will remain a mystery until it is finally released.**

 **All AU's are property of their respective owners. Thanks especially to XWolf26 for giving me the greenlight to use DoubleTale. Go read his stuff. I think he's got a fairly new story that kinda goes with the DoubleTale 'series' he's got called "Broken Hands" or something along the lines of that. I've read it, and so far it's pretty good. It isn't finished though, so if you prefer reading complete stories, try his other work, "DoubleTale," or "DoubleScramble." He's got about nine other stories too, and they're nothing to sneeze at either.**

* * *

Vale's destroyed, desolate landscape was…quite pretty, if you weren't aware of the circumstances that brought about its ruin. The husks of the buildings were decayed, but still reached as far as they could into the sky. Like flowers leaning into the sun, the buildings creaked and bent ever so slightly into the glow of the shattered moon. The scene was quiet. And quiet was peaceful.

And peace was good for a man who wandered in search of war.

"Alright. Well, new timelines mean more enemies. More enemies mean more overpowered dickweeds to put in their place…I guess. Well…then again, I'm not really lookin' forward to the Genocide timelines for this universe. I mean, things could be better, but things could _definitely_ be worse," said Cter, looking to the purple, murky sky as black lightning cracked the heavens.

Surprisingly, the city was unbelievably inactive during the night. Supposedly, the Grimm came out during the day to search for survivors, and…exterminate what was left. Cter knew this because he knew what his new acquaintances were up against. Personally. And she was not pleasant.

Distracting himself, he looked around, bored, and said, "While I'm waiting for shit to go down, I guess I could fuck around for a while in other timelines."

Using his hand to swipe through the air, he created a portal to another timeline. One that looked worse off than the one he was in. He had a feeling he wouldn't like being there. Which was strange. He only ever continually and unyieldingly hated timelines like…

"Oh, great. Starting off strong with my favorite, then. Can't be helped then. UnderFell, here I come," he said, begrudgingly.

* * *

Stepping through the portal was akin to stepping into a painting. Cter felt different. Kind of…mischievous. Like some sort of troublemaker who had the beginnings of a scheme revealing itself to him in his head. He didn't like the effect this timeline had on him. He felt it was best to leave the place as soon as possible, but not before he got a good look at what changed this timeline.

"For starters, I guess I could look for our strapping main character, me. Or maybe we could find that Ruby girl and see what's goin' on with her in this timeline," he thought out loud as he wandered the streets of a decimated city, most likely Vale.

Finding her had been a cake walk. He opened another portal and focused on her, and in no time at all, he was…standing outside the door to an evacuation facility on Patch? Well, that wasn't a problem, at least for Cter, who in no time at all, any thought for the safety of those inside gone, had bashed through the door with magic. Yes, magic. You read that correctly.

Guards ran to him and opened fire, blocked speedily by an amorphous blob of black, liquidy _something_ , Cter holding out his hand as if controlling the thing.

Taking out a pen he found in the pocket of his sweatshirt, he shouted to the guards, "Hey! Y'know, I'd make a joke about the pen being mightier than the sword, but you guys are using guns. D'you think you could be kind enough to switch weapons to make the joke work?"

A bullet whizzed by his ear, not making him flinch.

 ***Guess not. It was worth a try, though.**

 ***Are you thinking what I'm thinking?**

 _What would that be, my buddy, friend, bro, pal, amigo, chum?_

 ***I propose that we teach these idiots a lesson.**

 _Y'know, brotato chip, I'm beginning to think you haven't entirely kicked your…'habit' yet. Do I have to come back home and open a can o' whoop-ass on you?_

 ***I mean, I was thinking knocking them out and posing them in dumb ways while they're out, but you do you, I guess.**

"That might be the single stupidest thing I've ever heard. I love it," Cter said to himself, turning his focus back onto the guards, now simply frozen, looking at him.

One of the guards crept cautiously up to Cter, putting the gun he had up to his back, stuttering, "Y-You're u-under arrest!"

Looking back at the guard, eyes wide, he made a motion with his hands like he screwed off the lid of something and it exploded out of the container.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" the guard yelled, pushing the gun further against Cter's back.

"I'll give you the simplest answer I can. Can? Open. Worms? Everywhere."

* * *

 ***What the hell were you thinking?**

 _I wanted to say something cool._

 ***And it was worth getting bashed in the face with the butt of a rifle for?**

 _Well, it was cool though, right?_

 ***No, you moron, it wasn't cool. You said that stupid line, and you fell like a sack of sorry-ass potatoes.**

 _Hey. Where am I?_

 ***You're currently half-asleep in an interrogation booth, getting yelled at by a very sad looking blonde man in a leather jacket, while a shy looking girl in a white cloak looks at you disapprovingly in the doorframe.**

 _So it's Tuesday then. Alright. Watch and learn as I talk my way out of this with my unmatched charisma._

 ***I sure as hell hope you do.**

"So, do you come here often?" Cter slurred, still not quite awake.

 ***Why did I even think he could** _ **begin**_ **to talk his way out?**

"I've had a lot of people in this room. _None of them_ opened with that before," the man said.

"Well, I'm the most special son of a bitch you've ever had the displeasure of making your acquaintance, so count yourself lucky," Cter responded.

"Special is certainly a way to put it. Look kid, do you know why you're here?"

"To waste your time?"

"You're here because you broke open the door that kept us safe."

"Safe, huh? Safety is a bit of a bitch. You think you've got it, but the second you do, it kicks you in the teeth and makes off with your wallet. Ever heard the expression 'Dog-eat-dog world?' Because that's where you are, like it or not. I did you a favor by breaking down that door!"

"How?"

" _By teaching the dog how to eat._ "

The girl in the cloak burst into tears, running away. Ruby wasn't scared of him, of course. No, of course not.

 _She was terrified._

* * *

"Well, that's about as much fun as I can handle from this timeline. See ya, Tai," Cter said, giving the man in the leather jacket a small salute, and standing up as if he were never cuffed to the chair he sat in.

Cter grinned a dead grin and, opening another portal, left Taiyang in an empty booth, with an entire island's population in danger.

* * *

"Damn, man," Cter said to himself as he hurtled through space-time to the next timeline, "that was some Rorschach shit right there. The streets were extended gutters, and the gutters were full of blood, and the drains finally scabbed over. They all looked up and shouted 'save us,' and I whispered, 'nah, y'all are fucked.'"

 ***Y'know, that wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do.**

 _And you're the poster-child for being nice._

 ***My point is that you basically just doomed an entire timeline there. Ruby might never go on her adventure in that timeline.**

 _Good for her. I just don't understand why everything in that universe is all edgy and dark and Shadow the Edgehog. Even_ Taiyang _was wearing a black leather jacket and acting like a hardass._

 ***Look, I get it. I become the nice one in that timeline, and I hate that as much as you do, but do you really have to doom their timeline because of that? All it did was exist.**

 _Oh, wouldja look at the time, is that UnderSwap coming up?_

 ***You can't just leave the conversation! I have to properly reprimand you, do you hear me?**

 _..._

 ***Who the hell am I kidding? He couldn't care less to stay and take his lecture like a man. Might as well drop it until he gets back home.**

* * *

When Cter arrived in Underswap, he took a look around and realized quite quickly that it seemed he had made a wrong turn at Albuquerque, and landed in a spacious, albeit boring, black void.

 _The hell is this about?_

 ***Well, it's UnderSwap, so in this timeline, you're swapped with someone, just like everyone else. Ruby has switched with Yang, so now she has Yang's personality and role, but each of them bring their own twists to the roles they play. You know the saying, 'if the boot was on the other leg,' right? It's that.**

 _Friggin' brilliant, now what does that have to do with me being stuck here, in the middle of bumfuck, nowhere?_

 ***You're swapped with Gaster.**

 _Oh. Yeah, that makes sense._

 ***So are you gonna do something or…**

 _Ah, fuck it, I'm bored. Movin' on!_

* * *

Cter suddenly woke up on a bed of flowers, looking up at a hole miles above him.

"This brings back some memories, don't it, buddy?" Cter said, smiling nostalgically.

 ***Yeah. Not all of them bad ones either. Gotta say, it was pretty fun, what we did down here, all things considered.**

"Y'know, if I had to, I'd do this all again in a heartbeat," he said, breathing a sigh that sounded like he had returned home. Visibly, he relaxed, luxuriating in the flowerbed's calm stillness.

 ***You might have to. Get up and move your ass. Let's see if this timeline's gonna be a problem.**

"Fiiine. You act like I can't just leave and solve the problem later," he slurred in a tired drawl.

 ***That's irresponsible. If we overlooked all the threats we've beaten like that, then our timeline would've been destroyed at least three times over.**

"You know exactly where you can shove talk like that. _Right up your ass._ "

* * *

Piles of dust littered the ruins he walked through, confirming the suspicion that something was wrong. Though…something didn't seem right to Cter as he made his way through the rooms. There were slash marks and bullet holes in the floor and walls near all the piles of dust.

"Whoever did this is armed to the teeth," he commented.

 ***Either that, or whoever did this has a really absurd weapon.**

Coming up on the end of the ruins, Cter noticed something different. As he walked through the basement of Toriel's home, he heard gunshots and the sound of metal scraping stone. Running in hopes of saving her, Cter burst in on Toriel and, to his surprise, someone different.

"Everyone stop moving and no one has to die!" Cter shouted, pointing specifically at the unfamiliar figure.

Toriel then took the opportunity to run upstairs and treat her wounds. Cter looked puzzled at the figure in front of him. They were clearly a girl. Very different from normal. He stood there, wracking his brain for who they could be.

" _ **Are you going to stand and stare, or are you going to apologize for getting in my way?**_ " said the girl.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Just as soon as you tell me what's goin' on here," he responded, cracking his knuckles and getting ready for a scrap.

" _ **I'm reaping my harvest.**_ "

"Really? With what tool?"

" _ **My scythe,**_ " she said, pulling out a scythe about her height.

"Holy shit, kid. You got a license for that weapon?"

" _ **Why would I need one when no one can take it away from me?**_ " she asked, a bullet flying from the staff of the scythe, shooting clean through Cter's shoulder.

Unfazed, Cter stepped forward, making her take a step back.

"Y'know, I love people like you. The drunk-on-power rule-through-fear types."

" _ **And what makes you say that?**_ " she asked, hesitation heavy in her voice.

"Because…it makes it all the more _satisfying_ when I get to **watch the life drain from their eyes.** "


End file.
